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

SUNDAY

LUCAS CAPTURES TF WIN WITH BLISTERING RUN - Morgan Lucas spoiled the ultimate party for Tony Schumacher Sunday.

On Saturday, Schumacher clinched his eighth NHRA Mello Yello Series Top Fuel world championship. Instead of Schumacher putting an exclamation point on his stellar season, however, Lucas derailed him in the finals of the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway Sunday.

Lucas clocked a track record run of 3.704 seconds at 325.14 mph to edge the Sarge’s 3.742-second run at 324.98 mph.

“It’s always fun to beat the guy who won the championship, but not in a bad way because I like Tony,” Lucas said. “He earned the championship and he raced hard just like everybody who wins a championship.”

Lucas’ run was the second fastest in NHRA history since the sanctioning body went to 1,000-foot racing for Top Fuel and Funny Cars in July of 2008.

“Not really, to be honest,” said Lucas when asked if he was surprised about the performance of his car. “I’m not saying that in a cocky way. Aaron (Brooks, Lucas’ crew chief) is one of those guys who has a lot of confidence in what he does. Our 70.7 semifinal run we ran against Antron (Brown), our numbers early were actually slower than Richie (Crampton’s) Saturday night. So it looked like there was something left there and he (Brooks) wanted to gobble it up for the final. I know right now he is probably kind of ticked off because he didn’t get to run a 69 or 68, but that’s just the kind of guy he is, and when you have somebody like that around you can trust to be surprised.”

Lucas, who only ran a limited schedule of seven races this season to concentrate on working in his family’s business, won for the second time this year and the 11th of his career. Lucas also won the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., in August.

“I feel like I’m actually doing a better job behind the wheel doing this part-time thing than I ever did on a full-time basis, so apparently I didn’t handle the pressure quite as well as I could have,” Lucas said. “Honestly, I kind of like this (driving part-time) it is more cost effective and I still get to come out and have fun and I get to see my friends and family and I’m still learning a lot about Lucas Oil and there’s a long path ahead of me there. If my dad (Forrest) said 'hey, this what I want you to do, this is what’s best for our company' then it is what I’m going to do. Until then, I’m going to enjoy the time I get to spend with him, my son (Hunter), my wife (Katie). I hope nobody gets me wrong, because I have so much respect for the opportunities I have.”

Morgan also had no definite 2015 plans to announce at his post-race press conference.

“Honestly I wish I knew,” Morgan said. “I can tell you we are working really hard at securing funding for Richie (Crampton’s car). That’s a big deal to us. We have a lot of leads, but any team owner could tell you it’s never final until the ink is starting to dry. Hopefully we will get something going in the near future and as soon as we know something we will let everybody else know.”

Lucas disposed of Billy Torrence, Shawn Langdon, and Antron Brown before defeating Schumacher with his blistering pass. When Lucas beat Brown, he clocked a 3.707-second pass, which was the third fastest run to 1,000 feet in NHRA history.

“At the beginning of the season we were setting the goals of just qualifying and being respectable,” Lucas said. “Then, when we won Brainerd and that put things in a different direction. After we won first round, it is like you get a little bit more content with your finish. It’s more or less a feeling that’s already been a great day so let’s go up and try and finish it. I think just taking that pressure off it just makes you feel that much better about what you are doing.”

Lucas also took a moment to talk about his two electrifying elapsed times.

“It was fast and to be honest something else was in control because the car was on a string,” Lucas said. “I didn’t have to steer it, I didn’t have to do anything. It almost like the most lazy drive for me, but it felt like you were strapped to a missile.” - Tracy Renck

HAGAN STAYS OUT OF THE WAY IN RACE TO TITLE - Matt Hagan has frequently talked about the role he plays on his Don Schumacher-owned Funny Car team.

“Leave on time, keep it in the groove and turn the win light on,” Hagan has said numerous times this season when asked what his responsibilities were on race day.

With veteran tuner Dickie Venables making the calls on his 2014 Charger, Hagan sees himself as a wild card when the green light turns on and he lets out the clutch. This season Hagan tried to stay out of the way.

“What I do is not brain surgery,” he said. “It’s not rocket science, either. I just have to be consistent. I’m the biggest variable in that race car. It’s about doing the burnout the same and taking care of the clutch when you back up. It’s about staging the same and keeping the same brake pressure. Everything plays into it.

“If I can take myself out as a variable for Dickie Venables to tune the race car, that’s one less thing he has to worry about.”

It became a championship recipe this season as Hagan, Venables and company won the NHRA Mello Yello world championship in Pomona. Hagan actually clinched the title with his semifinal win over Tommy Johnson Jr. He put the icing on the cake by defeating John Force in the final round to win his fourth national event of the season.

“Everybody says it comes down to this day, and I think they lose sight of what you have to do to get to this point,” Hagan said. “It’s the five races before this, up to this point. It’s the holeshot wins, it’s the round wins, it’s the calls my crew chief makes on the race car to get it down the race track.

“There is so much that goes into it that comes down to this last day. Obviously we emphasize that this is the big day, but everything comes into play to put yourself into this position.”

Hagan put himself into position to win this weekend by consistently getting down the track. He defeated Chad Head in the first round with a 4.015 at 320.05 miles per hour, knocked off Ron Capps in the second round with a 4.081/314.83, got past Johnson Jr. in the semifinal with a 4.065/315.86 and topped Force in the final with a .049-induced 4.065/320.58 compared to Force’s .063-induced 4.086/276.58.

“I’ve been fortunate to have been around a lot of great crew chiefs and have seen a lot of different ways to tune race cars,” Hagan said. “Dickie isn’t the kind of guy that tries to run the low ET of every round because he wants to pound on his chest.

“He really is a racer on Sunday and I think that goes a long, long way towards doing what we do as a team and being able to turn four win lights on on Sunday.”

Venables thinks the entire team deserves the credit for the strong showing in Pomona, as well as for the world championship.

“This sport is a passion, not just a job,” Venables said. “It’s something you put your whole life into, and I think it takes that to be successful. That’s the way I am. This is something I love to do. I want to win and when I don’t I’m not happy. When we do it just drives you to do well.

“When you have all the tools and equipment at your fingertips there are no excuses. When you have a driver like Matt and a team that Don Schumacher put together, it means a lot to be able to have that.

“When you do have those things you make it happen. To be able to do what we’ve done in a short amount of time, I feel very blessed.”

Hagan, who also won the NHRA Funny Car title in 2012, agreed that the team Schumacher put together for his team is second-to-none.

“I can’t say enough about my guys,” Hagan said. “The team that Don Schumacher put around me is phenomenal. I couldn’t hand-pick them any better. Don has put a team and car in place that I can pull myself into, pull my helmet on and know, in my heart, that we can win on any given Sunday.”

He will also always have fond memories of this weekend.

“This was an awesome race. We won the world championship and also won the race,” Hagan said. “I knew my guys would dig a little deeper because we’re whole. We hang out together, we eat together…it’s a family out here. We’re just whole as a group, and when guys aren’t just there trying to get a paycheck they’ll give a little more.” - Mike Perry

ENDERS-STEVENS GOES RED, WINS ANYWAY - One round after defeating Jonathan Gray in a semifinal match-up that saw perfect .000 lights in both lanes, Erica Enders-Stevens clinched her first career world championship because her -.002 red-light was not as bad as Jason Line’s -.011 foul in the other lane.

Enders-Stevens became the third woman in history, with Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey, to win NHRA Pro Stock championships.

“It all boiled down to the last round at the last race of the year, with everything on the line against one of the baddest guys in the class,” Enders-Stevens said. “We were able to get it done and I give God all the glory. It was teamwork, teamwork…I say it in every interview but I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

The win is the culmination of a lifelong pursuit for Enders-Stevens.

“I was a little kid with a big dream,” she said. “I started racing juniors when I was eight years old, moved up to Super Comp and Super Gas for five years. I thought I wanted to drive a Funny Car, so I went and got my Alcohol Funny Car license…that’s when Cagnazzi called and said, ‘Hey, come drive my Pro Stock car.’ Here we are, 10 years later.”

In the first two rounds Sunday, Enders-Stevens didn’t need to be too sharp on the tree to win the rounds. She defeated Larry Morgan with an .062-induced 6.494 at 213.47 to top Morgan’s (.031) 6.581/210.93. In the second round she had an .061 light and carded a 6.494 at 213.67 to dispatch Roger Brogdon’s (.064) 6.511/212.46.

In the semifinals, things got interesting. Jonathan Gray and Enders posted perfect reaction times, but Enders-Stevens won it on the track with a 6.494 at 213.67 to Gray’s 6.524 at 212.29.

In the final Line was too early.

“I laid up the first and second round because I knew we had such a bad hot rod,” Enders-Stevens said. “I wanted to go after it in the semis because I knew Jonathan was .019 the round before. In Pro Stock there are no electronics so I use my clutch pedal as my ‘delay box’ from bracket racing.

“I wanted to set up .010 to .012, and we went out and went .000, which was a little too close for comfort.

“In the final round it was darker than I expected, so I shallow-staged as much as I could. Fortunately Jason was more red than me. There is no way to write how on the scorecard and we were able to get it done.” - Mike Perry

ARANA JR. CLAIMS PSM VICTORY AT SEASON FINALE - All season, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. has been chasing Harley-Davidson riders Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec.

Arana never caught Hines and Krawiec in the championship race, but he did get a measure of satisfaction Sunday.

Arana Jr. clocked a 6.832-second elapsed time at 195.08 mph to defeat Krawiec’s 6.977-second lap in the finals of the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.

The win helped Arana Jr. finish third in the points behind Hines and Krawiec.

“It’s definitely one of my better seasons and I’m just glad we were able to seal the deal after qualifying No. 1 because sometimes that can jinx you, but I was able to stay strong and take that No. 1 all the way to the end,” said Arana Jr., who rides a Lucas Oil Buell.

This was Arana Jr.’s second win of the season – he also won in Chicago June 29 – and this is the ninth win of his career. Arana Jr. made his NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle debut in 2011.

“It was very exciting and it got darker so I knew I had to be careful with the lights because when it gets darker you can see the lights easier and it would be easier to redlight,” Arana Jr. said. “I ended up getting an .010 light and I popped the clutch and I never saw Eddie and the bike just went straight down the track and everything performed flawlessly and it was a very amazing feeling.”

Adam Arana, rider of the ProtectTheHarvest.com-MAVTV Buell, and Arana Jr.’s brother, is closing his Pro Stock Motorcycle career after just two seasons, because he is set to join the U.S. Coast Guard.

The 23-year-old Milltown, Ind., resident has passed academic/vocational and physical entrance exams and will report to the Coast Guard for duty Jan. 6, 2015, at Cape May, N.J.

“It was very emotional up there for me,” Arana Jr. said about what it meant to win with Adam leaving the team. “I was crying and it was the last race for us together as teammates. It will not be the last race he is at, he will be at other races to watch and help and maybe ride once or twice, but it was our last race racing as teammates racing a full season together. I was really happy to get that win together with him one last time.”

Arana Jr. acknowledged his team guided by his father, Hector Arana Sr., is going to work tirelessly to try and catch up with the Harleys.

“We have a lot of things in the works and hopefully it all comes together,” Arana Jr. said. “We are going to work hard and try and do as much testing as possible that way we can be consistent and prepared for next year.” - Tracy Renck

HAGAN-FORCE BATTLE ENDS IN SEMFINAL ROUND – Before John Force raced Alexis DeJoria in the semifinals, he learned his Funny Car championship battle against Matt Hagan would continue into that round. And he said of his rival from Don Schumacher Racing, “I need him to fail, and he’s got a good hot rod.”

Hagan didn’t fail in his semifinal race against DSR mate Tommy Johnson Jr. That left Force with a small window of hope as he faced DeJoria. Force had to win and clock a 4.004-second elapsed time or quicker. That represented at least the back-up to a potential national record in the final. That’s the only way he could remain mathematically eligible for a 17th championship.

Force defeated DeJoria but didn’t run quick enough, posting a 4.044-second E.T. That sealed Hagan’s second championship and assured that for the third time since 2005, DSR has earned series titles in both nitro-powered classes. In 2005, Tony Schumacher and Gary Scelzi did it. Antron Brown and Jack Beckman repeated the feat in 2012. Tony Schumacher clinched his eighth Top Fuel championship Saturday to give Hagan the chance for a “DSR double” that netted the team $1 million this weekend.

“The glory goes to God,” Hagan said first after hoisting the Mello Yello Series trophy before preparing for his final-round match-up with Force for the event Wally.

“Don Schumacher Racing and the whole family just put a great race car underneath me. It’s just awesome to have this experience. It’s bigger than me, and I’m glad to be associated with this entire team. People think it comes down to this last day. But it all comes down to the five races before this and all the preparation and all the drama and all the nerves you have to get through,” the Mopar Express Lane / Rocky Boots Dodge Charger driver said.

“Force has a great car, and we have a great car. It all comes down to who gets up on the right side of the bed,” Hagan said.

Team owner Don Schumacher said he saw a huge change in Hagan from his 2010 letdown against Force to this weekend. “Matt is a totally different person today,” he said. “In 2010, Matt wanted to drive a race car, and he did a good job of driving a race car. But his team and himself have driven him to be what he is today. That guy is driven. He got a lot of wounds [in 2010], and they festered for a long time. I hope they got healed today.”

EVEN LOSING INSPIRES FORCE – John Force was re-energized, even in defeat Sunday.

“I have a future now. I didn’t know that six months ago, if I would get to race,” he said after stepping from his Castrol-branded Ford for the final time Sunday evening.

“I will build a championship team again. We only lost this thing by about one round. You want to go out with a win, but if you can’t do that, then be spectacular. I went out with a big ol’ fire,” Force said, referring to his tire-smoking, out-of-the-groove challenge to Hagan in the final.

“It was just like my old days losing,” he said. “I was so excited at the other end – and I lost. I always say it isn’t over until I say it’s over. I am not quitting. The real truth is this isn’t the end of John Force, and it will never be the end of John Force Racing. My grandkids will be racing. This is only the beginning of me.”

Force, 65, said his heart is “the best it has ever felt. The overload of sponsorship and the fear of not being able to race is what has been tough. I had great sponsors in the past, and I will have great ones in the future.”

PEAK and Lucas Oil have stepped forward to help fill the gaps left by the departure of Castrol and Ford, joining Auto Club, Traxxas, Mac Tools, Brand Source and others.

He said of his team, “They are the best. They pulled together and did their jobs. It was still the Prock Rocket, with John Medlen and Mike Neff leading the charge together. These kids put this Castrol Funny Car together, and it was the best. I am really proud of everybody. After St. Louis and Reading and losing a dear friend and crew chief, Jimmy Prock, we rallied really well.”

He even complimented Hagan and his team: “Hagan and [crew chief] Dickie Venables did their jobs. That’s a good race team. They have a long ways to go to catch us at 16 championships, but that kid is going to try.”    

ENDERS-STEVENS WINS FOUL-MARRED BATTLE – The Pro Stock points lead see-sawed between Erica Enders-Stevens and Jason Line with each round Sunday. In the end, both were so eager to race for the title in the final round that they both fouled at the starting line. Line did so before Enders-Stevens (-.011 seconds to her -.002), handing her the first championship of her career and the first in the class for a female. As public-address announcer Alan Rinehart said, “If Jason had never moved, he’d be the champion.”

She had no qualms about accepting the championship trophy or the event Wally “There’s no way to write ‘how’ on the scorecard. We got it done. That’s all that mattered.” But she added that she told herself, “Thank God he was worse. That would have been a heavy load to carry though the winter if I lost the championship on a red light.”

Enders-Stevens also recorded her first victory at Pomona to become the only one of six women who have raced in the Pro Stock class to claim a championship. The Elite Motorsports / Royal Purple Camaro racer follows her friends, three-time Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney and three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Angelle Sampey.

“It’s crazy. It’s hard to put into words. It all boiled down to the last run at the last race against one of the baddest guys in the class. I give God all the glory, but it’s teamwork. I was a little kid with a big dream. It’s definitely an awesome feeling, and I feel blessed.”

She said when she saw the ladder Sunday, she told herself, “The story’s already written. It’s going to be him and me in the finals.” At the end of race day and the end of her 10-year trek to a title, she said, she prepped herself for the last run by drawing on her faith and her usual routine. “I said a prayer before I got in there and just focused,” Enders-Stevens said. “She said she didn’t think about it being the final race.” She said she told herself, “This is Friday night qualifying.”

The Elite Motorsports team encouraged her today by telling her, “We’ve got the best God, the best team, the best car, and the best driver. Now we need to go out and prove it.”

And they did.

HINES EARNS FOURTH BIKE TITLE – With support from Harley-Davidson, including Willie G. Davidson himself, and a wealth of guidance from dad Byron Hines and Terry Vance, Andrew Hines 12 years ago abandoned his interests in racing a Pro Stock Truck and maybe becoming a doctor, and orthopedic specialist. (He said Sunday he’s glad he stayed with the bikes, although he said, “I still have the itch to go on four [wheels].”)

The NHRA dropped the truck class, and Hines turned to what he called his “fallback”: competing on a Pro Stock Motorcycle. His “fallback” has become his signature.

And after he defeated an improving Katie Sullivan in Sunday’s first round of eliminations at the Auto Club Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif., Hines secured his fourth championship.

That made Hines the most decorated living Pro Stock Bike rider. Only the late Dave Schultz, with six titles, had more.

It also pushed Hines’ performance past that of older brother Matt Hines, the one Andrew Hines said taught him how to race a motorcycle. Matt Hines, Angelle Sampey, Hines’ teammate Eddie Krawiec, and the late John Myers each earned three series crowns.

This championship just might be the most gratifying of Hines’ four, for he failed to qualify for the Countdown last season. Moreover, it completes the climb back from a purgatory the sanctioning body devised two years ago in the name of class parity.

The team worked feverishly in the shop at Brownsburg, Ind., re-engineering the Harley-Davidson engine to meet the new specs and had to linger in the shadows all the next year, while such racers as Michael Ray, Hector Arana Jr., John Hall, and Scotty Pollacheck took turns in the spotlight. The Vance & Hines team put in exhaustingly late hours, scrutinized their R&D parts, tested, and re-assessed everything. That, he said, made both his team and Krawiec’s “significantly better than we were. After that, it was game on.

“The team I have to put us in this position to get back to winning my fourth championship, I can’t say thanks enough to each and every one of them,” Hines said.

“It was a non-drama day,” he said as he accepted the symbolic $75,000 champion’s check from Coca-Cola’s Al Rondon. “And it was nice to get that win light and get that off my chest and be able to come over here and hold that Mello Yello trophy.

“I was given the chance by Harley-Davidson 12 years ago to field a second V-Rod Pro Stock Motorcycle entry. I can’t say thanks enough to Willie G. [chief styling office emeritus] and [wife] Nancy, who were instrumental in getting Harley-Davidson back to the front. I can’t believe it’s been 12 years I’ve been racing in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle,” Hines said. “And four championships later, it is still just as good as the first day.”

Hines was pursuing his seventh event victory of the season and 39th overall Sunday, but Krawiec ended his day in the semifinal. Nevertheless, he recorded his first championship since Krawiec became his teammate.

Along the way, he never had a first-round loss and only three Round 2 exits. He overcame a sixth-place start to the season and grabbed the points lead with a triumph at the spring Charlotte race. Hines kept that lead through the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis and was the top seed heading into the Countdown.  He yielded the lead at the fall Charlotte race to start the playoffs but regained it for good at Dallas.

He said the turning point was that event at the Texas Motorplex, where his bike “finally started running better in that final qualifying session. It was just a matter of picking away at the tune-up.”  

His strategy has been to “forget about all the extra pressure and just go out there and race my lane.” He said, “That is what I have been doing, and it has been paying dividends.”

This championship is the best of his four, Hines said. “I’ve learned a lot the last 10 years about what the motorcycle needs run after run.” It also is the first one he has earned in the Countdown format, which the NHRA established in 2007. “It’s to get that one off my chest,” he said.

Hines was just glad to have a chance to relax. “I was a nervous wreck on Friday,” he said, adding that knowing that Krawiec came through the gates with six final-round appearances here had him a bit on edge. Never mind that he had a 92-point advantage. “I didn’t count him out for the championship one bit. I was a total pessimist on that.”

Now, with Vance & Hines owning nine series crowns in 18 years, he has reason to be totally optimistic.

MONSTER NUMBERS – Morgan Lucas has competed in Top Fuel only at selected races this season as a salute to sponsor GEICO, but he has made his mark.  He won at Brainerd, Minn., in the family-sponsored Lucas Oil Nationals. This weekend, he qualified No. 3 and beat Tony Schumacher for his 11th career triumph. He advanced to the final round with the second-quickest pass in drag-racing history at 3.707 seconds. Then he topped himself with a 3.704-second run (at 325.14 mph) in the final against Tony Schumacher, giving him the second- and third-quickest passes.

Lucas beat Billy Torrence, another capable part-timer who had prevented Schumacher from clinching the championship at Las Vegas two weeks ago. Then he took out the previous two champions, Shawn Langdon and Antron Brown, and ultimately the reigning one.

It capped a successful weekend for Morgan Lucas Racing and for the Lucas Oil brand. Lucas Oil announced Saturday that it has partnered with John Force Racing in a three-year deal – a few hours before Richie Crampton earned the Top Fuel class’ No. 1 qualifying position. Lucas notched his second victory at Pomona and his first at the Finals.

Lucas said he wasn’t particularly surprised at the car’s performance, praising crew chief Aaron Brooks, who also orchestrated Crampton’s outstanding weekend. “The car was on a string. I felt like it was a lazy drive,” he said.

He said this success doesn’t make him rethink his decision to race only sporadically: “I feel like I’m doing better behind the wheel on a part-time basis than I did when I was full-time. I feel like I’m getting to play in the sandbox. It’s a lot of fun. I have so much respect for the opportunities I have.”

ARANA CLOSES OUT 2014 ON HIGH NOTE – Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Jr., the No. 1 qualifier, claimed his second victory of the season in his first final-round appearance at Pomona. This ninth overall victory was his first since the June race at Joliet, Ill., and this time he wasn’t bummed in the winners circle. At Joliet, he received his Wally statue at his father’s expense, but this time he got the final word against Harley-Davidson rival and fellow Indiana-based Eddie Krawiec. With that, he finished third in the standings for the second time in his career and recorded his fourth straight top-five finish.  Arana won the finale with a 6.832-second, 195.08-mph run to top Krawiec’s 6.977, 176.37. He said his bike performed “flawlessly.”

PERFECT NOT ENOUGH – Pro Stock rookie Jonathan Gray must be wondering what in the world it takes to win or at least to win against Erica Enders-Stevens. He had a perfect light in their semifinal pairing – but so did she. She won that race by about a half-car length, with a 6.494 seconds at 213.67 to Gray’s 6.524, 212.29. With that, she reclaimed the points lead from Jason Line for the third time Sunday and set herself up for a showdown with Line for not only the event victory but for the series championship.

MIKE AIELLO AWARD GOES TO STEVE JOHNSON –Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle team owner-racer Steve Johnson is the 2014 recipient of CompetitionPlus.com's Mike Aiello "Spirit of Drag Racing" Award.

CompetitionPlus.com owner Bobby Bennett made the presentation Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, during a break in eliminations of the Auto Club of Southern California Finals.

Johnson, 53, a Granada Hills, Calif., native whose racing team operates out of the Birmingham, Ala., suburb of Irondale, has been one of the National Hot Rod Association’s most genuine and genuinely enthusiastic ambassadors. His love of the sport hasn’t waned in his 20-plus years of competition, despite economic hardships and funding shortfalls.

Johnson’s seemingly boundless energy, sense of humor, and tireless effort to secure marketing partnerships have made him a fan favorite and excellent choice for the Mike Aiello Award.

His recent appearance on WPMT-TV (FOX43, serving York and South Central Pennsylvania) provided a classic Steve Johnson moment. He explained to the studio host what a quarter-mile ride at nearly 200 mph on a Pro Stock Motorcycle feels like.

“First of all,” he said, “you have to imagine maybe the fastest roller coaster on the planet, then get rid of your seat belts and all safety equipment. Throw that away – that’s for the cars. Then it’s like hanging onto a bullet as it’s getting fired out of a gun. It’s 3Gs, so if you’re 150 pounds, it’s like 450 pounds slamming against you. And you’re going to leave the starting line at 10,000 rpm. The front wheel comes up into the air. You can’t steer with the handlebars, so you’re leaning back and forth on the motorcycle with your feet on the foot pegs. And hopefully the front wheel comes down. And as you go through the quarter-of-a-mile after pushing the shifter five times, hopefully your eyes are closed. Oh – and you have to be on the motorcycle when it crosses the finish line.”

That affirmed Johnson’s declaration that “John Force is the face of our sport, but he isn’t the only one who can tell the story of how wonderful our sport is.”

He is a six-time NHRA winner and was the Drag Bike USA National Pro Stock Motorcycle champion in 1987 and 1989. Johnson also won a drag race at Fuji International in Japan in 1991 and participated in the first USA Drag Festival in Japan in 1989.

“Wow - that is cool!” Johnson said, eyeing the engraved trophy. “I'm proud as heck to have this!”

The Mike Aiello Award honors the Houston native and standout college athlete at Texas Tech University who was a longtime drag-racing fan and former National Hot Rod Association Pro Stock crew member. The honor commonly is referred to as "The Spirit of Drag Racing Award."

Aiello spent his final years confined to a wheelchair after a workplace injury. Despite physical hardship and severe mobility limitations, he not only attended drag races but made dozens of friends among racers, crew members, and media with his positive outlook and unselfish behavior. Aiello passed away December 29, 2006, at age 39, at Santa Monica, California.

The Mike Aiello Award recipient is someone who has persevered and remained positive in spite of hardship.

“I'm a big NHRA fan. They haven't signed the adoption papers, but at some point I feel like they will,” Johnson said. “That's what my life is kind of about, inspiring people to love drag racing and to do the best at whatever they're doing.”

John Force Racing crew chief John Medlen received the inaugural Mike Aiello Award in 2007, followed by Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson (2008), Pro Stock's Mike Edwards (2009), International Hot Rod Association racer and journalist Michael Beard (2010), NHRA Funny Car racer Jack Beckman (2011), and former IHRA President Aaron Polburn (2012). Top Fuel racer Antron Brown and Top Alcohol Dragster’s Shawn Cowie shared the 2013 honor.

GOOD-BYE WITH GRACE – Top Fuel owner-driver Bob Vandergriff’s final pass, for the record, was a 4.924-second, 141.16-mph loss to JR Todd. The C&J Energy Services Dragster racer was particularly gracious following the match-up against the rising star he had mentored for several years as a part-time driver for his organization. Todd left Bob Vandergriff Racing suddenly during the spring Las Vegas race, accepting a fulltime driving job for Kalitta Motorsports. So many observers figured this might be a grudge match, for surely Vandergriff wouldn’t want a first-round loss to Todd as his final racing result. But Vandergriff surprised, saying, “I’m not a person who worries about what happened in the past. I think a lot of that kid who beat me. If anybody’s going to beat me, I’d just as soon it was him.”

NOT LINE’S HERO – Larry Morgan said before he lined up against Pro Stock title contender Erica Enders-Stevens in the first round, "I can be everybody's hero or someone's going to hate me," Morgan said. "Like usual though, you can't count me out. You never know what's going to happen when we pull up to the line.”

By the time that happened, top qualifier Jason Line already had beaten red-lighting Jeff Isbell, posted a 6.496-second pass in his KB Racing / Summit Racing Equipment Camaro, and assumed the points lead.

Enders, in the Elite Motorsports / Royal Purple Camaro, left Morgan in her mirrors. She used a 6.494-second elapsed time that set low time and gave her back the lead. Her 213.47-mph speed also topped Line’s 213.06.

So Morgan wasn’t Line’s hero in that round, and the championship battle carried over to the quarterfinals.   There Enders-Stevens once again had to swipe the points lead from Line. He cut a .008-second reaction time and beat Dave Connolly on a holeshot. She reeled off a 6.494-second E.T. to eliminate Rodger Brogdon.

Meanwhile, Morgan, the No. 14 starter, quipped about the Ford Mustang he has said he’ll retire at the end of this season, "We've been trying to make changes with every run, but we can't get it just right. I don't want to think so, but maybe the car is smarter than us. That's about the only solution I've got at the moment."

IN CELEBRATION – Every Friday at the Winternationals and the Finals at the Fairplex at Pomona, a special group of fans celebrates the life of Pomona native and Top Fuel racer Bobby Baldwin in the grandstands. This tradition draws such notables as Chris Karamesines, Jim Head, Paul Lee, Leigh Buttera (daughter of Lil John Buttera), and the late Baldwin’s wife, Paula Baldwin-Flanagan, and his daughter, Krista Baldwin.

Baldwin was an avid participant of drag racing, and he helped renovate the new tower. He lent his water truck from his grading company to help control the sand trap during the races and helped with development of the entire Fairplex. Baldwin passed away September 23, 2001, of a brain aneurysm at age 53.

SATURDAY

 

TOP FUEL

CRAMPTON ON TOP – Voting is over for the Auto Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award is long over. But Top Fuel rookie Richie Crampton, who continues to excel amid a swirl of uncertainty for about his 2015 season with GEICO leaving as his primary sponsor, made another statement on his own behalf Saturday. He used a track-record 3.711-second pass that was the second-quickest in NHRA history to claim the No. 1 qualifying positon.

He’ll begin eliminations Sunday against No. 16 Troy Buff, who nicked No. 17 Terry McMillen by two-thousandths of a second (3.834 seconds to 3.836).

His part-time teammate and team owner, Morgan Lucas, was the third-quickest qualifier, and he’ll race No. 14 Billy Torrence in the opening round of the 50th anniversary of the NHRA Finals.

“Everyone knows when [crew chief] Aaron Brooks has two good cars what he can do,” Crampton said. “I knew if that car made it past the Christmas tree that Aaron would have me on a mission. I was definitely hanging on, and it was a heck of a ride.”

He said driving for Forrest and Charlotte Lucas and carrying the Lucas Oil banner is a special privilege: “I’m probably the most spoiled rookie in the NHRA. I’m just a lucky guy who gets to drive great equipment in his rookie season.”

Auto Club Raceway at Pomona is where Crampton stoked his excitement for NHRA drag racing as a spectator in 1999 – when, ironically, Tony Schumacher won his first Top Fuel championship – he traveled from his home at Adelaide, Australia, to sit in the stands and watch in person the racers he saw only from his couch on TV broadcasts. So, he said, “The World Finals means a huge amount to me.”

LINE ‘EM UP – No. 2 Antron Brown will face No. 15 Clay Millican.

The Kalitta Motorsports team put two dragsters in the top five. Doug Kalitta, who set ran top speed of themeet so far at 328.30 mph and goes against Steve Torrence, was fourth, and JR Todd, Bob Vandergriff’s first-round opponent, was fifth.

Spencer Massey, who entered the race No. 2 in the standings, will start from the No. 6 slot and will line up against No. 11 Shawn Langdon. Khalid alBalooshi (seventh) and Dom Lagana (10th) will meet, as will two keen rivals throughout the past decade No. 8 Larry Dixon, a three-time champion, and No. 9 Tony Schumacher, the newly crowned eight-time champion.

Failing to qualify besides McMillen were Brittany Force, Steve Faria, Steve Chrisman, and Jenna Haddock.

VANDERGRIFF TAKES LAST RACE IN STRIDE – Is Bob Vandergriff sentimental? “No. I never have been,” said the owner-driver who will be shortening his title to just “owner” after this weekend. He said he and wife Marissa share the trait. “Always for us, it’s like on to the next thing. When it’s over, it’s over, and then we’re going to move on to the next thing. It’s just the way I’ve always been.”

He said his collection of memorabilia is virtually non-existent. “A lot of guys collect stuff over their years of driving. I don’t have anything left. I don’t have firesuits and helmets and all that stuff that I’ve collected over the years. I don’t have any of that. I’ve just never been that way,” he said.

Of course, Vandergriff said he’d like to end his career “with a trophy in my hand.” However, he said, “I’ve had a good career out here. It’s been 20 years. Made a living at it. Didn’t have to get a real job. Been able to take care of my family. So it’s been good. I always would have liked to have done better, you know? But it’s one of those things it didn’t line up like some other teams have done – like 60 wins with Larry Dixon has or 70 like Schumacher has. I’m not complaining. I’ve had a good career.”

Vandergriff, 49, has a degree in business administration from the University of Utah, and he’ll have a bigger chance – an obligation to drivers Larry Dixon and Dave Connolly and likely a third driver – to put that to use. He has won three times, most recently last spring at Houston. But he’s on track to be an owner much like IndyCar team owners Chip Ganassi and Dick Simon, who won more races as the mastermind behind the race team.

He might add current Funny Car racer Blake Alexander to the mix in a third dragster next season. “We’re working on things together. He’s really good on the business side, and I think he has a lot to offer from that standpoint. So we’re going to explore some opportunities with him,” Vandergriff said. “He’s got a lot of contacts in the industry. Some of it looks promising. Some we’ll see.”

As for himself, the C&J Energy Services driver said he was thankful for those three victories, for “being able to check that off. It would have been tough to retire without winning. To be able to pull that off the last few years and win some races, that part has been answered. But for me, it’s always been more about the business stuff than the actual driving the car, anyway. And we’ve had success from the business side of it. The opportunities that are out there for me on the business side are even greater. So I’m excited about that much more than I am disappointed about stopping driving.”

Referring to young sons Bob III and Luke, Vandergriff said, “With a new family, I have small kids again. I’ll be able to be at home a little more. At the same time, while I’m at home, I’ll try to increase business opportunities. And some of the sponsorship programs we’re working on now, for me, that’s the excitement for me, anyway. I get more of a thrill out of putting a deal together than running a 3.75 [-second elapsed time]. If we can some big deals together  . . .”

He said, “I’ll still be out here, and I get to watch. I have a three-time champion driving one of my cars. I’ve got a kid who, if he’s not the best natural driver out here, he’s in the top three or so. He’s taking my place. And I’ll be able to teach him and watch him learn and grow and have some accomplishments and win some races, that’s really going to be cool for me.”

Concentrating on the business side of matters has plenty of fascination for him.

“It’s going to be good for our program when I don’t have the responsibilities of having to drive the car and the guys waiting on me because I’m doing something else,” he said. “They can focus on doing the best they can and running the car. If they have to stay and test, Dave will be here because he doesn’t have the responsibilities that I have. It’s just going to be better to allow me to do the things I’m better at anyways.”

Vandergriff, whose father served a stint as PRO president, said he isn’t interested in having a more significant voice on the political side of the sport. “I really don’t have any desire for that. I’m not a committee person. Playing the political game, I’m just not very good at that,” he said.

“On the sales and marketing stuff, I think I’m pretty good at it. I think I’m pretty versed in it.  I’ve been exposed to it at a lot of high levels. But trying to convince somebody who doesn’t have that background that I know what I’m talking about, sometimes it’s more frustrating than it’s worth,” he said. “I’m not a technical guy, and I would never go to Alan Johnson what he needs to do on an engine combination, because that’s not my background. But I expect people in the sales and marketing side to listen to me and me not have to convince them that I’m right. I think that’s the frustrating and aggravating part of it sometimes that I don’t have any interest in pursuing.

“We’re just going to do the best we can with our own program. We’re going to build the best little pod

we can build,” Vandergriff said. “And I think the rest will take care of itself.”

That includes any emotions that might surface following his last pass. “It’s hard to say. Maybe when it’s over and done with on Sunday,” he said. But it’s probably best not to count on that happening.

RAPISARDA RHAPSODIC . . . OR MOONSTRUCK– Dom Lagana clocked both his and the Rapisarda Autosport International team’s quickest pass Saturday with a 3.763-second elapsed time at 322.42 mph to qualify 10th in the 16-car Top Fuel field that’s quickest in NHRA history. “The car took off like a rocket ship, and I was headed to the moon,” Lagana said.

Team owner Santo Rapisarda was home at Sydney, Australia. But Santo Rapisarda Jr., who tunes the car along with brother Santino Rapisarda, said, “We spoke to dad back home in Sydney, and he’s over the moon. It was a killer track, and Dom returned the car with no damaged parts. This is our best ever NHRA performance.”

Lagana, 29, also had set the team’s previous mark in September at Indianapolis at 3.78 seconds. He’ll face Al- Anabi Racing’s Khalid alBalooshi in first round of eliminations.

FUNNY CAR

DeJORIA TAKES SPOTLIGHT – Alexis DeJoria opened the year with a three-second run to her credit and is closing it with a third one in her Patron Tequila XO Café Toyota Camry. She used a 3.998-second pass to lead the field at this final race of the year, swiping attention from championship contenders Matt Hagan and John Force.

“I wasn’t paying any attention to that,” DeJoria said Saturday night. “I’m in my own world. Whatever happens happens.”

No. 16 Gary Densham, returning to action following knee surgery, is her first-round opponent.

Points leader Hagan owns a 23-point lead over Force. The 16-time champion qualified fifth and Hagan, the 2011 champion, will start sixth. Force will begin his day by racing No. 12 Bob Tasca – who, ironically, eliminated Hagan in the opening round in 2010 to facilitate Force’s 15th title. Hagan’s first assignment Sunday is racing Chad Head.

A DIFFERENT MAN - In 2010, Matt Hagan was in the driver's seat of his championship aspirations until his car lost in the first round, effectively crashing his chances. Four years later he's in a very familiar situation against a very familiar foe - John Force. In this Les Mayhew video, Hagan describes how he's a different man today for Pomona's Sunday battle.

 

THE DRAW – Tommy Johnson Jr., the Friday leader, settled for No. 2 in the order and will face Tony Pedregon, the No. 15 racer. As No. 3 qualifier, Ron Capps will run No. 14 Jeff Arend. Other pairings have No. 4 Cruz Pedregon pitted against No. 13 Tim Wilkerson, No. 7 Jack Beckman versus No. 10 Del Worsham, and No. 8 Robert Hight with lane choice over John Force Racing mate Courtney Force, the No. 9 qualifier.

LEFT OUT – Unable to make the cut were Jeff Diehl, John Bojec, Jon Capps, Shane Westerfield, Terry Haddock, and Bob Bode. Westerfield had hoped to qualify in both Funny Car and Top Alcohol Funny Car. He did make the latter but lost to Doug Gordon in the first round of eliminations Saturday.

CRUZ HELPS WITH HONOR FLIGHT DONATION – Honor Flight Network, an organization dedicated to transporting U.S. veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials dedicated to their service, received $150,000 for the cause from Snap-on Tools Saturday.

Cruz Pedregon, whose 3.991-second Funny Car run this season at Reading, Pa., contributed to the fund, helped Alicia Smales, Snap-on Inc.’s vice-president and chief marketing officer, make the presentation at his pit before qualifying began.

Snap-on announced in June at Joliet, Ill., that it would donate to Honor Flight Network $10,000 for every three-second pass, up to $150,000. Tommy Johnson Jr. (3.999, Joliet) and Alexis DeJoria (3.998, Brainerd, Minn.) generated $20,000, and Matt Hagan was responsible for $20,000 in donations with his 3.998 in September at Indianapolis and 3.983 at the fall Las Vegas race.

“So far we’ve had five thee-second runs [since the challenge was issued to the Funny Car class], and we think there’s going to be more tonight,” Smales said, referring to the evening session and the forecasted cooler temperatures that would sweeten the conditions for sub-four-second passes. “So Snap-on today has decided to go the distance. And we’d like to give a check for the entire $150,000 to the Honor Flight Network so that we can get as many veterans [as possible] to Washington to see their memorials.”

Diane Gresse, executive director of Springfield, Ohio-based Honor Flight Network, accepted the check from Smales and Pedregon.

Pedregon traveled to the nation’s capital several weeks ago to meet an Honor Flight group for their tour. He said the experience was inspirational. “It was a big honor for me to be a part of it for Snap-on. I was part of the Snap-on group for some of their veterans to go to Washington. It was a 12-hour day, but a lot of fun and very emotional. It was really cool to be a part of it."

WISHES GRANTED ALL AROUND - Tommy Johnson playfully said Friday evening that he was happy because he has a job lined up for next year, then said, “I didn’t say what it is.” His bosses told everybody Saturday. Don Schumacher and Terry Chandler announced they will repeat their campaign in 2015 with the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger, and Johnson will return as driver to represent both DSR and the charitable foundation that grants the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions.

Chandler funds the DSR team that raises awareness for the non-profit organization by donating branding to Make-A-Wish on the race car, team transporters, and uniforms and hosts hundreds of Make-A-Wish kids and their families at NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series' 24 events throughout the country. Chandler fully funds the John Collins-led team. Make-A-Wish does not contribute any funds to the racing operation.

"This past year with Make-A-Wish on the Funny Car has absolutely been the most awesome, overwhelming, and amazing year that I've experienced in my life," Chandler said. "We get to meet so many kids, and it can be gut-wrenching to see what these precious babies and their families are living through. But they are each so brave, and that has inspired us all. To see those smiles on their faces when we tell them that this is their race car, not ours, and to see their excitement and their joy when they are here with us at the track has meant the world to every single person on this team. The guys on the Make-A-Wish Funny Car team have the biggest hearts in the world, and I'm so proud to have them. This past year has been a huge learning experience for me. I am so grateful to Don Schumacher and everyone at DSR for taking me under their wing.

"I thank the Lord very, very much, and I thank my daddy, John R. Gray, for giving me this blessing so that I can bless others,” she said. “This has been an amazing year, and I'm confident that in 2015 we'll have another great year with Make-A-Wish. I'm looking forward to visiting with many more Wish Kids and families at the racetrack next year. Seeing those kids smile means everything – not just to me, but to our whole team."

Said Schumacher, "This program with Terry and Make-A-Wish has far exceeded anything I could have imagined, and we're excited for next year. I couldn't have imagined how Terry's commitment and love for Make-A-Wish children would touch every member of DSR and especially me. Having these children and their wonderful families with us at races lifts everyone at DSR emotionally."

Johnson also praised Chandler, saying, "Terry probably has a bigger heart than anyone I've ever known. She's super passionate about drag racing, loves her team, and cares about everyone she's around, especially Make-A-Wish kids. She gives back more than anyone I've ever known. I'm thrilled that not only have we had a great season so far with our Make-A-Wish Dodge but that we'll have another opportunity next year to be even stronger and better."

David Williams, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America, added, "The past year has been full of excitement, both on and off the track. And all of us at Make-A-Wish are grateful for the support of Terry Chandler, Tommy Johnson Jr., and the entire DSR team. We are looking forward to another year of memories and incredible moments. Terry's continued support of Make-A-Wish through this marketing initiative and her passion for our mission means thousands of people will learn about the life-changing wishes we grant every day."

PRO STOCK

‘BABY POINTS’ KEY – Erica Enders-Stevens speaks often about “baby points.” She’s referring to the qualifying bonus points that can come at each race in amounts of three, two, and one. They might seem small to the round-win tallies. But she showed all year long that she knows they’re valuable, going after them aggressively in her Elite Motorsports Camaro. As a result, she has earned more this season than any professional driver in any class. As she maintains a 19-point edge on closest challenger Jason Line, she has 157 bonus points. By contrast, Line has 77, fourth best in the class.

Line, the No. 1 qualifier in the KB / Summit Racing Equipment Camaro, said he “definitely wouldn’t have bet the farm” that he would have qualified No. 1 because she has been so strong in time trials. And he said he simply had hoped to minimize the “little-point damage.”

He said he is calmer this time around and just excited about what he described as “a heck of an opportunity. Hopefully it’s one for the ages. I hope it comes down to the two of us in the final round. It’s going to be a great day.”

Line complimented Enders-Stevens as “a great driver and great competitor.”

HE GETS IT - Rickie Jones won the Pro Stock trophy here last November, and his emotional reaction as he accepted it was one of the most poignant moments in NHRA history. His collapse to the ground amid a flood of grateful tears told the story of a young man in love with the sport, the sport he shared with his parents for as long as he could remember, realizing his dream. This year and his father Rick are the crew chiefs for Elite Motorsports and Erica Enders-Stevens, the perseverant points leader who is on the verge of discarding a decade of disappointment and fulfilling her dream with a series championship. So he knows some of the emotions she has been dealing with and might possibly be dealing with this weekend.

Said Jones when he won here a year ago, “Man, it was so emotional. You work for something so long, driving the race truck across the country, and keep beating on it. This is what I’ve always wanted since I was racing Jr. Dragsters when I was 10.” It’s almost as though he’s telling the story of Enders-Stevens’ racing life, magnified maybe because what’s at stake this weekend is an historic feat for a female racer and a series, not event, title. Just the same, he can identify with her situation.

“It’s probably the same emotion,” he said. “Everyone has worked so hard their whole career. Whether you’re trying to win a race or your first championship. It’s just all the hard work and the passion you have for the sport. And when it’s all on the line and  . . .  for me, it was just overwhelming. God was with me that day – He’s with me every day.

“We’ll see how it goes. We’re going to try our best. If we win, awesome If we don’t win, we’ve still had a great year and we’ve always got another race down the road to look forward to,” he said. “I know God wants us to go for it. He wouldn’t want us to be nonchalant about it. We’ll try our best.”

Jones predicted Enders-Stevens will have an emotional reaction Sunday, too.

“I think she’ll have tears if we win this deal, pull this off. You’ll see a lot of people probably jumping and then crying,” he said. “It’ll be awesome. I hope our dreams come trouble. If anybody can do it, she can. I have all the faith in her and our whole team. We’ve got to keep our head in the game and focus on the task at hand. It’ll sort itself out.”     

Emotion is natural, Jones said: “It’s a tough game. You’ve worked all year to get to this point. So either way, there’ll be emotion. Either way, if we win or we lose, we’ll still walk out of here with our heads high and knowing that we tried our best.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY - Roy Johnson, the engine specialist at Team Mopar / Magneti-Marelli Dodge Dart, said crew chief Mark Ingersoll made the choice to leave the organization after at least a dozen years.

“I guess he’s taken up other interests. The rumor is he has a better offer,” Johnson said. “Money paves the way. It’s never enough for he or I. We hate to see him go, but I understand.”

Johnson confirmed that reigning and multi-time champion Jeg Coughlin will bow out of the operation because he and wife Samantha are expecting a child in January.

“I’m proud of him for backing off for awhile,” he said. “Maybe he’ll come back with us. Maybe he’ll come back with somebody else as soon as the wife and child get settled down.”

Johnson said his team would like to have a second car and driver to fill Coughlin’s absence.

“Financially we need a second car to stay out here or to do better staying out here. I guess we don’t have to have one to stay out here, but it sure helps us advance,” he said, adding that his son, team owner, and driver Allen Johnson “does the courting. Allen handles all that.”

Continuing to speak of changes for 2015, Roy Johnson said he’s not happy that rival Dave Connolly will be switching to the Top Fuel class.

“No no no. No no,” he said, flashing his wry sense of humor. “Dave Connolly wakes my driver up.”

Turning serious, he said, “Competition is what it’s all about. Would it be any fun for you and the fans if nobody could drive and you were the best one? Winning the race and beating somebody, it’s no fun when they break. But when it’s a dead-even tree and the cars run and you win by thousandths, that’s the kind you brag about. It ain’t no fun if somebody has trouble and you win that way. Dave’s a good driver.”   

THE PAIRINGS – Jason Line will enter the final day of the season as the No. 1 qualifier but No. 2 in the standings, 19 points behind leader Erica Enders-Stevens. He’ll start his quest for a third championship against class newcomer Jeff Isbell, who grabbed the No. 16 spot and aced out lone DNQ Joey Grose.

Enders-Stevens is the No. 3 starter. If she is to advance and hold off Line, she’ll have to get past Larry Morgan, the No. 14 racer.

Friday leader Shane Gray ended up No. 2 and paired with No. 14 Greg Stanfield.

Jeg Coughlin Jr., starting his last race before taking a leave of absence, will face V Gaines in the first round, and fifth qualifier Vincent Nobile will line up against Matt Hartford. No. 6 Allen Johnson and No. 11 Rodger Brogdon will race, and so will No. 7 Jonathan Gray and No. 10 Chris McGaha. Greg Anderson (No. 8) and Dave Connolly (No. 9) should treat the fans to an entertaining race.
 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

ARANA KEEPS NO. 1 SPOT – Top qualifier Hector Arana Jr. will meet Fred Camarena, the last of the 6.9-second qualifiers, in Sunday’s first round of eliminations. Arana Jr. set low elapsed time at 6.832 seconds and a class-fastest 197.62 mph. Camarena, from nearby Placentia, set the bump at 6.974 seconds. He said he overcame his own third-session mistake – “I forgot to let go of the clutch,” he said. “But it's better to do that today than tomorrow.”

THE BIKE LADDER - The Harley-Davidson contingent of Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines qualified Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Krawiec will start eliminations against No. 15 Shawn Gann, and Hines will meet No. 14 Katie Sullivan. Hines is the points leader who’s awaiting his coronation Sunday as a four-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion and the first since six-time champion Dave Schultz won his fourth in 1993. He leads Krawiec by 89 points heading into race day.

Matt Smith and teammate Scotty Pollacheck will go at it in the opening round for the second straight race.

Jim Underdahl, making his second-best start of the season (after qualifying fourth at Atlanta), will try to continue his momentum against No. 12 Chaz Kennedy.

Elvira Karlsson’s No. 11 position earned her a first-round match-up with No. 6 Hector Arana, while Adam Arana will start his final race (at least for now as he prepares to enter the U.S. Coast Guard) against Jerry Savoie, the seventh-quickest in the order. Angie Smith and Steve Johnson landed in the middle of the pack at Nos. 8 and 9, respectively.    

DIDN’T MAKE IT - Unqualified were Redell Harris, Rhett Lougheed, Gert-Jan Laseur, Lance Bonham, Bill Burkhart, and Michael Ray.



FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - SCHUMACHER DRAWS CLOSER, TJ RELAXED, LINE CONFIDENT AND ARANAS FACE CHANGE

TOP FUEL

KALITTA SHRUGS OFF DISAPPOINTMENT – Doug Kalitta said he’s proud of his and his Mac Tools crew’s performance this season, which he called “one of the best years I’ve had.” Moreover, he said, “I think we’ll all stick together for next year.” He said that after his first-round loss at Las Vegas two weeks ago that resigned him to the fact he wouldn’t catch leader Tony Schumacher he decided, “I wish I was right in the mix . . . but it’s not life or death. It’s disappointing.” And he was upbeat as he spoke Friday about his provisional No. 1 qualifying position: “I just love running this race.”

SCHUMACHER GETTING CLOSER – It isn’t official yet until qualifying ends Saturday, but points leader Tony Schumacher can eliminate both fifth-seeded Doug Kalitta and fourth-seeded Shawn Langdon from title contention simply by putting his U.S. Army Dragster in the Top Fuel field. That still leaves No. 2-ranked Spencer Massey and No. 3 JR Todd clinging to extremely thin hopes of pulling off a race-day upset.
 
However, Schumacher didn’t leave any doors open Friday. With the last of the 3.7-second passes in the first session, he was fourth, behind Larry Dixon, Antron Brown, and Bob Vandergriff. Schumacher moved up to third in Friday’s final session.
 
"It'll be really tough for us to get around Tony for the championship," Las Vegas winner Massey, who would need to close a 109-point gap but was No. 2 in Friday’s final order, said. "He'd pretty much have to not qualify, and we'd have to win the race to get that championship. It's possible mathematically, but that's not really our goal. Our goal is to win Pomona and let the points fall where they fall."
 
Many drag racers joke after losing a close race that they “ran out of racetrack.” In Massey’s case, he ran out of races. He has come on strong but doesn’t have enough time to make the full impact he’d like to on the championship chase.
 
"We went through a really tough stretch of races this summer and got stuck in a slump. And now it feels like we are out of that, and we're excited," Massey said. "We've been working really hard on trying to make good, solid laps, qualify well and trying to go rounds on Sunday. We finally had a weekend in Vegas where we put all of those things together, and now we have some momentum going for Pomona, which is always nice."

Langdon could relate. “There’s no consolation when you don’t win the NHRA Mello Yello championship,” the reigning champ (for a few more hours) said. “But we’re shooting for second place now.  If we can do that, we can show we’re capable of putting up a fight. The Al-Anabi Team had its opportunities to contend for the Mello Yello title, but we weren’t able to capitalize on them.  It’s a little disappointing. But we know what our team is capable of accomplishing, and we understand how tough the competition is in Top Fuel.”

NOT GETTING AHEAD OF HIMSELF – Points leader Tony Schumacher, almost guaranteed to earn his eighth Top Fuel championship, said he hasn’t planned an acceptance speech for the NHRA Awards Ceremony that will take place Monday at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

“I think it would be inappropriate to do it before Saturday night if and when I’m safely in the show for Sunday,” the U.S. Army Dragster driver said. “I’m a firm believer in earning it all the way. You can jinx yourself, and I don’t intend on doing that. We obviously have a great lead. We have something that’s about as far out as most people have had going into Pomona. It’s comfortable, but, with that being said, I don’t even know what the speech would entail until the end, if and when we’ve made the runs we would have to make to win it. And a lot of the stuff I would learn along the way as the weekend unfolds as we’re trying our best to live out another great moment for this U.S. Army team.”

THE GATOR LIFE - Go behind the scenes with NHRA Top Fuel driver Terry McMillen as he races at the NHRA AAA Finals in Pomona, Ca. The Amalie Oil-Sponsored driver will put you in the drivers seat for the final event of the 2014 season.

FRESH CAR - Brittany Force is back in a dragster – her newly refurbished back-up. Her original Auto Club of Southern California Road to the Future tribute car is a mangled memory. It was wrecked during testing the day after the completion of the Toyota Nationals at Las Vegas race nearly two weeks ago.

“Motor let go, took the tire off, and before the car was stopped, it destroyed the chassis. It was junk,” her dad and team owner John Force said. “I mean, I lost a quarter of a million bucks or whatever it all costs right there. That hurt.”

But even in distress, Brittany Force’s first instinct was to communicate to her father that she was all right. “My daughter was yelling on the radio before it come to a stop. That's why I love my kids so much. ‘Tell Dad I'm OK. Tell Dad I’m OK.’ She was just repeating that to make sure that I got it, because, man, I didn't know if it went airborne. Looked like the cockpit was in the air, way up high, and you know, but it wasn't. She drove it straight, got out of the car, but she was sending that message to Pop, because that was key to her: to ‘Tell Dad I was OK.’ And she was out of the car.”

He said her Todd Smith-Dean Antonelli-led team hustled to assemble a new car for her to drive for this last race of her sophomore year. And she had it in the No. 16 spot at the close of Friday.

John Force offered thanks to Don Schumacher Racing, his employees, and the engineers they worked with to develop the canopy (he called it “that cabin on top of that dragster”) that JFR uses on Brittany Force’s dragster. He said, “I think it was Green [Mike Green], their crew chief on that Army car, that designed that and put it together with some people, so I thank him for that.” He said the canopy “makes them a little heavier, but me and Tony Schumacher talked about it. I'm going to stay with it and keep my kid safe, because I love this sport and we're going to keep doing it.”

He said one of Antron Brown’s crashes convinced him to go with the canopy: “That’s when we made the decision to put it on our race cars. I had two dragsters already built in our shop, and I said stop them because [of] the cabin that was built at Schumacher Racing.”

WANTS HIS SWEET CAR BACK – Pragmatic and resigned to the fact he won’t earn back-to-back Top Fuel championships, Shawn Langdon just wants one thing right now. He wants to have back his Al-Anabi Racing Dragster – the one that behaved like he and crew chief Brian Husen and team manager Alan Johnson wanted it to each weekend. “At this point, we simply want to get our race car back and finish strong,” Langdon said. “We’ve struggled a little bit to get a handle on the car, and you really want to finish up and end the season with a positive. We really just need to get the car back to where it was running a year ago, where it was consistent and it was consistently fast.”

It was acting up again Friday, leaving him 20th out of 21 Top Fuel racers.

 “Our car has gone through a lot of changes,” he said. “I know the Al-Anabi team is going to put in an A-plus effort at all times. We’re trying to progress the car and the tune-up, and it’s been tough at times this year. We’ve run into bumps and have had some struggles, but it’s all for the sake of progress. And there’s no denying the effort the team has put in the entire season.”
 
Still, Langdon is a racer, and he naturally is hoping to make an impact this weekend, even if he won’t repeat his championship. “We’re hoping that if the opportunity presents itself, we might be able to knock off the national E.T. record and gain an extra 20 points.  We’re hoping to end the season on a good note.  It’s been an up and down year, but we’re hoping to end in on an up. “
 
The team saw flashes of possibility, with Langdon twice in the past three events pulling to the brink of possibly toppling leader Tony Schumacher. Langdon reached the final round at St. Louis and climbed to second in the standings. But he lost ground (two positions) with a first-round loss at Reading. He rebounded at Las Vegas, marching back to second place temporarily with Schumacher’s Round 1 defeat against Billy Torrence, No. 2 Doug Kalitta’s early exit, and his own first-round victory. But Spencer Massey knocked out Langdon in their quarterfinal, and Langdon was back to fourth place.
 
“We had a chance,” Langdon said. “It was a great feeling to know that with Tony and Doug going out in the first round, we had a chance to make up a lot of ground in the point standings. But we couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. We’ve had one of those years. It’s been tough fighting through the tune-up bugs this season.”
 
No matter what his situation is, Langdon – a Mira Loma, Calif., native who lives in Avon, Ind., to be near his Brownsburg-based team – is happy to be racing again in familiar territory. Auto Club Raceway is where he made his first drag-racing passes. “I love Pomona,” he said, and every time I get butterflies. To me, it’s the biggest event of the year. I grew up watching the Top Fuel cars go down [this] track, it’s where I started my career. Pomona is where it all began and that makes it special every time we race [here].”
 
He won the Finals last season to cap his championship run.
 
CALIFORNIA HAT TRICK? - Khalid alBalooshi is looking for a California Sweep. He began this year with the victory here in February at the Winternationals, and he won in July at Sonoma. He said he knows the odds are tough but that he and his Jason McCulloch-led crew “are so happy with what we did in Las Vegas. Our team made some very good runs – six of them. We made a good run in the second round on Sunday, but we raced the wrong team at the wrong time – J.R. (Todd) won the round. Our team has gotten better this season, step by step. We have one race to go. I think we have a good chance to win. You have to be very good to win, but I know we have one of the best cars in the show, too. We can do it.”

The Los Angeles resident and Dubai native regards this as his home race, and he knows it is one of the home races for Al-Anabi Racing team manager Alan Johnson, who’s from Santa Maria.

“I know he wants to have a good weekend. Winning the third race in California would be very nice, but you know, Top Fuel is very hard. Everyone on our team will work his hardest to win.” AlBalooshi is No. 5 in the tentative order.

OFF THE GRID SO FAR – Still trying to grab a spot in the Top Fuel lineup are Dom Lagana, Steve Chrisman, Jenna Haddock, Shawn Langdon, and Steve Faria.

IN THE TOP 12 - In the top 12 overnight behind Doug Kalitta, Spencer Massey, and Tony Schumacher are (in order) Antron Brown, Khalid alBalooshi, Larry Dixon, Steve Torrence, JR Todd, Bob Vandergriff, Billy Torrence, Richie Crampton, and Morgan Lucas.

Under the “guaranteed-time-12” line but above No. 16 tentatively are Terry McMillen, Clay Millican, Troy Buff and Brittany Force.

FUNNY CAR

RELAXED AND HAPPY - Thanks to landing the provisional No. 1 spot Friday in the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger, Tommy Johnson Jr. said, “I’m really relaxed,” adding that he was enjoying the best day of the year at the racetrack. “I got a job next year. The car’s running good. Life’s great,” he said after acing out Don Schumacher Racing colleague Ron Capps by two-thousandths of a second with his 4.003-second, 317.34-mph performance. He said the best word to describe his car this season is “consistent,” explaining that the car is “getting better and better and better” and the team effort is getting “easier and easier” because the crew is blending much better.

2nd CHEW ON THIS – A lot of racers might have their hands full, being in a championship duel with the inimitable John Force. Matt Hagan is human, so naturally he has a lot of thoughts swirling around in his mind these days. But his responsibilities on his Angus cattle farm near Christiansburg, Va., have tempered the tense energy an NHRA championship can load on a person.

While Force spins himself into an emotional knot scaring up money to feed his drag-racing habit, Hagan has his eyes on the business side of ranching. He has something to feed, too: his cattle. And they are capable of eating up almost as many dollars as a race car does. He said “It’s getting chilly” at home. “The wind is blowing. And we've got a pile of cattle to feed. We definitely did a lot of work this summer. I sat on the tractor for a long time, put up a lot of feed, so we're ready for the winter. Nobody ever wants to see the cold come around, because the grass goes brown and the cows start eating hay. So it just costs you money. It's hard to feed cows snow. You've got to have hay to feed them.”

He’s got something for Force to chew on, too.

“I believe in my team, and I know that we've got the stuff and what it takes to get it done,” Hagan said. “Our team is very strong. We are still a very, very hungry team. This is a team that's only been assembled for two years, last year leading the points all the way pretty much most of the Countdown, up until my crew chief got sick and John came in and ran really hard. But Dickie [crew chief Venables] has put a great race car under me this year, as well, and we're really battling it out. Now it's going to come down to the wire here in Pomona. I think we're very . . . hungry is the word that would best describe my team. I think that we've grown together, and we're driven to go out and get this thing done.

“I'll put it in perspective like this: I had a guy that never even won a race on our team, and we go to a semifinal and he was like, ‘Oh, man, I'm going to win my first semifinal.’ And then we finally went to a final and then we finally won a race, and now instead of just being happy with the race, he's like, ‘Man, I want to win a championship.’ We all rise to that next level of where we want to be.”

Force and Hagan lined up next to each other in Friday’s second session, giving fans a bit of excitement. But it turned out to be not so thrilling, with neither rising to any level of respectability. Hagan lost traction and got his car sideways early in the run and Force shut off his engine early. Force had a 4.281-second elapsed time on that pass, and Hagan clocked a 7.467.   

TOUGHER THAN EVER -Tim Wilkerson hasn’t won since the 2011 Seattle race, and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang owner-driver said of the notion he might win at Pomona, "I'd like to think that something like that wouldn't be a surprise, but you never know."

He said, “To win Pomona, we'll have to be at our very best. I looked ahead at the weather forecast, and it said 'Fast' for all three days. When conditions are good like that, we've had a hard time lately putting four perfect laps together. Perfect laps, in this sport, are really hard to come by, no matter who you are. But some of those other teams are very good at doing something that's really hard. We can do it, I think they all know we can do it, and it would be a great way to end the season."

Wilkerson is ranked ninth in the standings and needs a victory this weekend to even his elimination round record at 23-23. He has a 53-point lead on Cruz Pedregon, and he could improve to eighth.
 
"We're competing on a playing field that's a little tilted against us, trying to run with these multi-car teams that don't just have more cars than us - they have more of everything, from data to parts to people. The fact is we've taken a number of those teams out this year, but we haven't been able to seal the deal on a race, and that bugs all of us,” Wilkerson said.
 
"You know, you can stare at the points all you want, but the truth is there's almost always going to be a very fast car in the other lane when you line up on Sunday,” he said. “We've had our share of huge opening rounds, and we've stunned a few teams along the way, so it's something I know we can do.
 
"You talk about having to run John Force, or Courtney Force, Robert Hight, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Del Worsham, Alexis DeJoria, or any of the other tough teams in the class. But heck, our year might be a whole lot better already if we hadn't faced Tommy Johnson five times. We haven't beaten him yet this year. I think we're 0-5 against him, or something like that. Tommy is doing a great job driving a very fast car, and so far we haven't had an answer for him” Wilkerson said. “The only other Countdown driver we haven't beaten is Cruz, but we've only raced him once. We've beaten all those other cars at one point or another this year. But I don't think it's ever been tougher to beat four teams that good in one day."
 
He was in the elite group Friday as provisional 12th qualifier at 4.199 seconds. Joining him in that group – besides Johnsn, Capps, and Cruz Pedregon – are (in order) John Force, Alexis DeJoria, Robert Hight, Del Worsham, Matt Hagan, Chad Head, Jeff Arend, and Jeff Diehl.  
 
DOING DOUBLE DUTY – A major part of Shane Westerfield’s Top Alcohol Funny Car success can be traced to clutch and tuning wizard Bob DeVour. The two Californians became acquainted one Tuesday night during the offseason following the 2011 season when Westerfield wandered over to Chuck Worsham's Orange County race shop for some bowling. (Worsham has an alley in the shop.) As he bowled with Chuck and Del Worsham, Jeff Arend, Robert Hight, and some of Bob Bode's crew members, a pensive gentleman sat on the sidelines, nursing a beer and watching the Funny Car fraternity of bowlers. It was DeVour. Westerfield never had met DeVour, but their meeting that night turned out to be as momentous as bowling a 300 game.
 
Westerfield, the twentysomething former Jr. Dragster driver, had veered off into karting, quads, Porsche racing, and drag-boat racing. He had kept his hand in drag-racing in 2009 as top-end specialist on Courtney Force's and Brittany Force's A/Fuel Dragster for team owner Jerry Darien. But he was planning to race dad Steve’s drag boat.
 
"I was planning, geared-up, ready to drive the boat. We had a lot of guys in our class who were crashing. And my dad couldn't drive the boat anymore -- he had to have back surgery," Westerfield said. "I'm thinking I'm in line next. I'd been working on it real hard for six years. And then my parents got together and they agreed that I could race but it wouldn't be a boat. I ended up scaring them, just driving it, I guess, so they pulled the plug halfway through."

Westerfield bought a Monte Carlo from fellow TAFC competitor Sean Bellemeur and acquired funding from CP-Carrillo Bullet Series Monte Carlo. The CP-Carrillo sponsorship was a carryover from the boat racing days, the first of several relationships the Westerfields developed through their Anaheim-based family business, Coeste (pronounced "Coast") Design Inc. Exhibits. "We build trade-show exhibits. That's what our family business is," Shane Westerfield said.
 
Then the Worsham connection came back into play for Westerfield. This weekend he’s driving the Worsham Family Dodge Charger, attempting to qualify in both the Top Alcohol Funny Car and nitro Funny Car classes. He’s the first since Gary Scelzi in 2005, at the spring Las Vegas race, to do so.
 
Westerfield qualified 12th in the TAFC division and will meet Doug Gordon in the first round Saturday. His Funny Car team will have to work overtime overnight. He had an engine explosion in the evening session, crossed the center line, and had his time disqualified. That cost him four positions and dropped him from the protected-12 group to No. 13. (He probably didn’t have time to notice, but Ron Capps recorded a 4.005 elapsed time in the opposite lane.)
 
SNAP-ON RE-UPS WITH PEDREGON – Funny Car owner-driver Cruz Pedregon had positive news all the way around Friday. Just after he and primary sponsor Snap-on announced Friday they’ll be marketing partners into 2017, their 25th year together, the Toyota driver went out and grabbed the early qualifying lead with a 4.011-second pass at 311.77 mph. The Kenosha, Wis.-based tool company has been associated with the two-time champion since 1992, when he earned his first title.

“Snap-on is a company of great people, and its tools and equipment are what I want to keep my car and team running. It’s a relationship I really appreciate,” Pedregon said. “I’m grateful for a sponsorship that supports the sport of NHRA drag racing and allows us to continue the work we do for the fans that come out to the races and follow us on ESPN and online. I come from a racing family, and it’s fun to see the sport continuing to flourish among audiences young and old. It’s something that really gets in your system once you’ve experienced it, and I’m glad Snap-on agrees by sponsoring me and my team for well over two decades now.”

Yvette Morrison, vice president of marketing for Snap-on Tools, said, “We support the hard work and dedication it takes to compete at the highest levels of Funny Car racing with a single car team like Cruz Pedregon Racing. Snap-on is pleased to renew our agreement with Cruz. Cruz made the fastest Funny Car pass in history this season, which exemplifies his ongoing commitment to excellence, something we value as a sponsor. Cruz is a true ambassador for the Snap-on brand because he knows and understands our tools and relates well to our franchisees and customers.”

Pedregon will continue to visit customer shops with franchisees and attend local and national events on behalf of Snap-on. He will also remain part of Snap-on’s outreach to veterans and the military, as well as other business and philanthropic initiatives.

Pedregon ended the day in third place, as Tommy Johnson Jr. and Ron Capps posted 4.00s to slide him down in the list.

DEALERSHIP HELPS TONY PEDREGON – Two-time Funny Car champion has landed some financial help for this event from the local Leggio brothers and their Mark Christopher Auto Center dealership.

Mark Christopher Auto Center has been involved with NHRA drag racing and has supported several teams in the NHRA (including Pro Stock’s Kurt and Warren Johnson). “I’ve always been a fan and strong supporter of drag racing in Southern California. Our customers are very loyal NHRA fans,” Christopher Leggio said.

The partnership for Chris and Pedregon date back to the mid-1990s. “Chris and I have been friends for many years, and Chris places a high value on his customers and understands the loyalty in our sport,” Pedregon said.
 
DeJORIA ESTA CALIENTE . . . CHEERS! – Alexis DeJoria unveiled a new look for her Toyota Camry before qualifying began Friday. The new livery promotes Patrón XO Cafe Incendio. Afterward, she took the tentative No. 3 spot in the order behind Cruz Pedregon and John Force, running a 4.020-second, 314.39-mph pass. Playing on the liquor company’s description of the Incendio brand – that it “combines the spicy, distinctive flavor of Mexican arbol chile with the rich, decadent essence of Criollo chocolate” – she said, “We’re on fire – but not literally, so that’s OK.” She’ll start Saturday as the No. 5 driver.

SALUTE TO VETERANS – Jack Beckman is extending his Veterans Day celebration through this weekend, driving the Veterans Trust Foundation Dodge Charger for Don Schumacher Racing, with financial support from Rodger and Karen Comstock's Mail Terminal Services (MTS). The Comstocks have been supportive of Beckman as friends and sponsors since his first ride in a Top Fuel dragster in 2005.

Through the Comstocks, he has promoted the MTS Mail from Home effort that sent nearly one million post cards from NHRA fans to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. That was followed by the MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors and Hire a Hero programs. The Veterans Trust Foundation (TheVeteransTrust.org), the 2012 champion said, “is a strategic grant-making organization dedicated to supporting military veterans in their transition back into civilian life."

Said Beckman, who’s 16th after Friday qualifying, "The timing couldn't be better for this paint scheme with Veterans Day and with the public seeming to appreciate our military maybe more than any time in our history. Being involved with the Comstocks [in a way] that directly benefits our returning veterans is so worthwhile and rewarding. He completed a four-year service for the U.S. Air Force as a sergeant at age 21.

THE FINAL WORD ABOUT IT? - The ‘Jimmy Prock Leaves JFR, Joins DSR’ headline is faded – or at least fading – news, for the most part. But during a recent NHRA-sponsored teleconference, John Force added a post-script to the situation in which he lost his crew chief at a pivotal point in the season. And rival Matt Hagan opened up about how a similar scenario affected him.

Force said he was at Las Vegas at the SEMA Show, the automotive aftermarket trade event that took place between the most recent race and this one. He said his crew members, by their simple presence with him at the show, gave him a soul-satisfying boost.

“When my guys walked into that SEMA Show and stood there, I knew that I had their support. They supported me at Vegas, and whether they leave or not, they showed loyalty to me that we're going to fight for this championship, and it was the greatest feeling,” Force said. “Robert was standing there, Brittany and Courtney, and it was like, ‘Wow, there's your team with all their overload, they come to SEMA to say hi.’ Yeah, they'll probably be gone, but God bless them, they're with us now. Like I said about Jimmy Prock: Jimmy Prock is gone. Not to my team. He's in our heart. No matter what anybody thinks, if you change on an individual for whatever reason, then you're not worth a hoot. I don't change. Still love the people I love, but people has got to make changes for their selves and for their families, and we've got to respect it.”

Hagan won the 2011 Funny Car championship, then failed to qualify for the Countdown the next season. And he traced the disconnect to two different agendas going on in his camp that year. “That was some unfortunate situation there where Tommy DeLago, he had already decided he was going to make a change to go over to the Kalitta camp. I wish him all the best, but our team suffered because of it,” Hagan said. “The guy is a phenomenal crew chief. His and my focus just wasn't in the right direction that year, and it showed it on the racetrack. That's where that came from.”

He also found the positive aspects to that time. “On the flipside,” he said, “Dickie [Venables] came in here and did great job to get the ground running with it, and we're excited to have him at the DSR camp.”

Meanwhile in another circle at DSR, Jack Beckman is the one who stands to benefit from Prock’s new assignment. And the two already have had a promising test session in preparation for this second race together. They stayed at Las Vegas two weeks ago and made two passes, and Beckman said he is starting to understand Prock’s way of doing things.

"We planned to make four runs but we only made two,” Beckman said of the test. “The first one we was a planned shut off just past at 687 feet, and it went 4.08 but would have been a 3.98 if we made a full run. It was a little warmer for the second one, and it went 4.01 at 318 and we loaded it up.”

He said, "One of the first things Jimmy did when he got here was to pore back through our data and look at runs when it didn't make it and looked at the changes made from before when it did make it. He asked himself what he would have done differently. It's interesting to see the philosophy of Jimmy instead of the specifics of Jimmy. His parts and tune-up approach differ significantly from our standard DSR approach. Having him on board will make our other three crew chiefs better, and having them to bounce ideas off will make him better."

Beckman isn’t swooning over Prock at assistant crew chief Chris Cunningham’s expense. He knows Cunningham is a veteran crew chief. “Chris is a smart guy," Beckman said. "He is a highly intelligent guy from his vocabulary, knowledge of trivia, and what he brings to the team. His observations and tuning a car make it very clear he's been around a long time and understands these cars inside and out."

LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENT – Below the No. 16 line Friday and especially eager to have their two Saturday chances are Bob Bode, Jon Capps, Bob Tasca, Courtney Force, Gary Densham, and Terry Haddock.  

PRO STOCK

GRAY HAS HORSEPOWER – Provisional No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier Shane Gray is poised to lead the field for the fifth time this year. That’s quite a change for the Gray Motorsports Camaro driver, who had no No. 1 starts before this season. “The difference,” he said, “is horsepower and horsepower. This is just a horsepower class.” He improved three spots from the first session.

LINE CONFIDENT HE’LL SEAL MORE THAN ONE DEAL - Jason Line, gunning for his third Pro Stock championship, is second in the standings and said making up his 17-point deficit to leader Erica Enders-Stevens doesn’t trouble him. What’s more, he has incentive to overcome not only Enders-Stevens but also his own past Pomona performances.

"Last year, we came to this race 71 points back, and we really had no chance. To come into this race 17 points out of the lead this time around is nothing. It’s a single round," Line said. "Our approach is pretty simple, really. We're going there to win the race. The Summit Racing team certainly has the ability to do that. Anything is possible, and I feel really good about this weekend."

Enders-Stevens and Line were tentatively qualified 1-2 in Friday’s first session. They were 2-3 behind Shane Gray after the second session.

Minnesota native (and North Carolina resident) Line took advantage of the fact Enders-Stevens bypassed two-thirds of the Western Swing this summer. He overtook her for the points lead with the victory at the Brainerd race – his hometown event – and kept that lead for six races. She stormed back and regained it at Las Vegas two weeks ago.

But Line, whose titles came in 2006 and 2011, has extra incentive to shine at the L.A. County Fairplex with his Summit Racing Camaro. Three of his four No. 1 qualifying positions at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona have been at the NHRA Finals. However, none of his three victories here have been in the Finals – all have happened at the season-opening Winternationals, including this year’s edition this February. And although he has advanced to the final round of this race twice, he lost both times to teammate Greg Anderson.

Line said, "The Summit Racing team is happy to be in this position, and we're all very excited for the opportunity to have a really cool finish to the year."

Erica Enders-Stevens is well aware of the history on the line this weekend. But of more immediate concern is trying to remain calm at the prospect of trying to hold off two-time Pro Stock world champion Jason Line.

Enders-Stevens’ won her fifth race of the season two weeks ago in Las Vegas and after Friday's qualifying extended her lead over Line by two to 19 points.

If she wins, Enders-Stevens could become the first female to claim a Pro Stock world championship in NHRA history, which would be a massive achievement for the driver. She was also the first female to win an event in Pro Stock. In this Les Mayhew video, Enders-Stevens discusses her plan of action for the weekend, her inner feelings and the challenge of what could be a historic weekend. - LES MAYHEW

 

COUGHLIN STILL KICKING – Although public-address announcer Alan Reinhart talked about it plenty on mike Friday, reigning champion Jeg Coughlin neither affirmed nor denied he would be taking a hiatus from the Pro Stock class in 2015. He said he wasn’t going to discuss his future plans during this weekend’s race.  

One thing Coughlin does acknowledge is that he’ll yield his Pro Stock title rights this weekend to either points leader Erica Enders-Stevens for her first championship or to second-ranked Jason Line for his third – or maybe, if things get a little crazy Saturday and Sunday, to Dave Connolly for a Pro Stock swan-song championship. But Coughlin isn’t about to concede the event victory, not with six trophies in 14 final-round appearances here at Pomona.

“Southern California is where our sport got its start, and Pomona is such a historic place. All the bigs have won there, and when you see your name alongside the legends of drag racing in the record books, it's pretty surreal,” he said.
 
"We've had great luck in Pomona with a variety of our JEGS.com entries over the years, and I know this year's Mopar Dodge Dart is up to the task of winning again,” Coughlin said. “The focus will be on the tremendous battle for the 2014 championship, I'm sure, but we have every intention of winning the race ourselves.
 
"It will be interesting to see what happens in qualifying and how the race day ladder turns out," he said. "No matter who we face, we'll be racing for the win ourselves, so they better be ready. I know the years when we've been fortunate enough to win the title there were no easy rounds, and quite frankly, a driver doesn't want anything given to him. There's no greater feeling than to know you've earned it.”
 
Coughlin, a six-time series champion and 74-time winner, won in Pro Stock twice in 1999 and one time each in 2000, 2001, 2005, and 2007. Besides his seven runner-up finishes in Pro Stock, he was runner-up once in the Super Stock class.
 
He said his goal this weekend is “to sail off into the break on a winning note." And no matter where in the final standings he ends up, Coughlin said he’s proud of his hands: “I'm super proud of the team. Mark Ingersoll and Adam Hornberger have done a great job tuning this car, and the crew, both at the track and back home at the race shop, have worked so hard to help us win. We've added a few Wallys to the ol' trophy case and made the Countdown field with both team cars [his and Allen Johnson’s], so we certainly had our chances. I have no complaints."
 
He had few, if any complaints, after Friday qualifying, too. He was fourth in the order overnight.

BROGDON RESPECTS ‘THAT RED CAR’ – Rodger Brogdon has come on strong toward the close of the Countdown, starting with his victory at Reading in the Owens Corning Camaro. And he said he’s convinced "we're going to be good."

Brogdon said. "I plan on going out there and qualifying in the top five or six and winning the race.” His first trip down the track Friday didn’t go as he had imagined, and he wound up last among the 17 entrants. He figured out what needed fixing and gained eight positions to close the day No. 9 with two more attempts coming.  

“I really think we've got a hot rod that can run with anybody,”Brogdon said, “except for that red car."

Yes, “that red car” – the one that Erica Enders-Stevens drives for Richard Freeman’s Elite Motorsports team – has shown it’s the class of the class for most of the year. That excites Brogdon, though, for Elite provides the horsepower for his Camaro, too. So he knows he has the power to compete with anyone in Pro Stock.
 
Just the same, he said he wants to avoid Enders-Stevens -- the Pro Stock points leader and potential champion -- until Sunday’s final round. He said he has a plan in mind regarding Enders-Stevens, his longtime racing associate from their native Houston.
 
"I've got to stay away from that thing until the finals," Brogdon said of Enders-Stevens’ car. "I think that's what the other 15 drivers are thinking, too: Stay away from that red car until you have to run it.’ That car is bad to the bone."
 
If he were to meet Enders-Stevens in the final round, Brogdon said, "That means You-Know-Who [No. 2 Jason Line] is already out and she has won the championship. She'd probably go up there lackadaisical, and I'd bust her butt! Sounds like a plan."
 
Brogdon laughed. He knows Enders-Stevens goes for it all, like she did this spring at Las Vegas, sweeping the K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus race and the event – the won there two weeks ago from the No. 1 position and took back the points lead.
 
"We did manage to win a race this year,” Brogdon said, proud of his triumph in the Countdown event at Reading, Pa. But this year has been a lot of ups and downs and craziness, so I'm about ready for it to be over. That win basically salvaged most of my year. We all know the issues we had this year, but we can say we went to the winners circle."
 
And he’d love to do that again, especially considering this race marks nearly 30 years of racing here. His first Pomona appearance was 1985 with a 1980 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Super Stock category. "It's a great place to go race," he said, remembering his first trip to the cradle of drag racing. “That was one of my best trips ever, just experiencing Pomona for the first time. Everybody looks forward to going to Pomona."
 
GROSE-OUT – The class has 17 entrants and 16 places on the starting grid. So far the odd man out is Camaro driver Joey Grose, of Lodi, Calif., the lone Pro Stock racer in the seven-second range Friday. But he has two chances Saturday to jump into the field.
 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

ARANA JR. NO. 1 - Hector Arana Jr., encouraged that he was “able to solve our issues at the starting line” Friday, overtook first-session leader Eddie Krawiec in the second session with a 6.832-second run at a class-best 197.62-mph. “I knew I was on another good pass,” Arana said afterward. However, he was quick to concede, “There are still very fast bikes that can nab No. 1 from me.”

ARANAS BRACING FOR CHANGE – With Adam Arana leaving his Milltown, Ind., home and the NHRA racing community for the United States Coast Guard in January, the Pro Stock Motorcycle-racing family has mixed emotions about this major change in their Lucas Oil-MAVTV-Protect The Harvest operation.
 
They started celebrating their last weekend together on an upbeat. Hector Arana Jr. was the overnight qualifying leader Friday, and the trio landed tentative spots in the top half of the ladder with two more Saturday sessions remaining. Hector Arana Sr. is fifth overnight and Adam Arana eighth.  
 
Patriarch Hector Arana Arana said he is “sure going to miss Adam” and that “it’ll be different for sure next season without Adam. I couldn't be more proud of his choice to serve, though. I wish we could have helped him get his first win. But I know that he has enjoyed this chance, and that's what matters."
 
Son Hector Arana said, “I'm ready for the season to be over, but at the same time I'm not. I'm ready to start the next season fresh and have another chance of going for the championship. But at the same time, after Pomona, I won't be racing with Adam anymore, so I'm going to miss that. It's a double-edged sword. Winning a championship is important to me, but at the same time, so is racing with my dad and brother."
 
While only two Arana Racing bikes will compete next season, the younger Hector Arana said he is glad he could watch his brother enter the sport and progress: "It's been great racing with Adam. We always talked about and I tried to explain to him what the feeling was like just riding the bike. We also tried to talk to him about the racing and how good it feels to do well. He's a very competitive person, and we knew he would enjoy riding. I'm glad he was able to experience that so we were able to experience that together."
 
As the weekend approached, Adam Arana said, "It's tough to say what my emotions will be like, because I'm used to Pomona being the last race. I'm used to having four months off, so I don't think it will hit me that I'm no longer racing until I leave for boot camp."
 
However, he didn’t want to slam the door on drag racing. "I still have my license, and it's good for another two years. So if I get an opportunity, I might try to go out to a race and have some fun, be a spoiler," he said. As for this weekend, he said, “I’m excited and sad all at the same time. It'd be one thing if I would never be able to come out here again. But since my brother and dad are still racing, I'm definitely going to be at the track in the future."
 
Nevertheless, Dad was a bit sentimental, saying, "I started off racing on my own, and Hector Jr. joined me later on. It's been a great two years, though, having both my sons with me every weekend on their bikes."
 
MAKES BIG JUMP – Jim Underdahl made the biggest improvement of all the Pro Stock Motorcycle racers in the second session Friday. He gained 10 places aboard his Bad Boy Buggies Suzuki to secure a spot in the protected top 12. Petrolhead Buell racer Scotty Pollacheck fared much better in his second run, moving up five places to the provisional No. 10.  Chaz Kennedy put the Star Racing Buell in ninth place overnight, four positions better than he did in the opening session.
 
Needing to make significant moves Saturday among the 22 bike entrants are Michel Ray, Rhett Lougheed, Gert-Jan Laseur, Bill Burkhart, Lance Bonham, and Redell Harris. They’re the No. 17-22 racers so far. Fred Camarena, is 13th tentatively, Shawn Gann is 14th, Elvira Karlsson is 15th and Steve Johnson is 16th with a current bump spot of 6.971 seconds on his Suzuki.
 
VISIT WITH LEGENDS – As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, NHRA will feature many of the sport's greatest legends and those drivers will share some of their favorite memories from 50 years of the Auto Club NHRA Finals. "The King of Speed" Kenny Bernstein, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, "TV" Tommy Ivo, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, Ed "The Ace" McCulloch, Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney and Don "The Snake" Prudhomme will be featured during the event and participate in a series of special NHRA Legends Chats and a special autograph session on Saturday afternoon in the popular Hot Rod Junction.

 The NHRA Legends Chats will run from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday and the special legends autograph session will take place between Saturday's pro qualifying sessions. Fans can attend the Legends Chats and autograph session by obtaining a special commemorative 50th Anniversary NHRA Legends Card, which will be available on a first come, first served basis at the Hot Rod Junction.