First he lost a sponsor.

Then he had his new and innovative bike rejected after initially claiming approval by the tech department.

Just last week he claimed a victory in the midst of the worst kidney stone attack he’s faced in his life.

Sunday's might have very well guaranteed Mike Neff Rookie of the Year accolades.

Mike Neff made a big move last weekend by clinching the final spot in
the Countdown to One and racing into the semi-finals before he dropped
a close race to professional drag racing instructor Frank Hawley.
R.O.T.Y. candidates Bob Tasca III and Rickie Jones fell early in
competition.

“It felt good to go some rounds. We couldn’t get the set-up right going
down track. We spun the tires the first two rounds and on the last run
we thought we were going to fix that but we put a cylinder out,” said
Neff. “That is what cost us that race. I really thought we were going
to get him and go to another final.”

Del Worsham just ran out of time.

Worsham in the CSK Chevy Impala saw his long-shot hopes of
qualifying for the Countdown extinguished when Jack Beckman and Mike
Neff advanced to the semifinals during the NHRA Toyo Tire Nationals in
Reading, but Worsham can take some solace in his making an improbable
dash over the last few months to qualify for the U.S. Smokeless
Showdown bonus event to be contested at the U.S. Nationals on Saturday,
Aug. 30, with $100,000 going to the one-day event winner.

Worsham won this bonus event, based on Funny Car qualifying over the
course of a year, in 2005, but with two DNQs to start the season and
two more in the month of June, qualifying for the Showdown was not on
his radar screen. But on the strength of strong qualifying efforts the
second half of this season, Worsham came to Reading needing to
out-qualify Jack Beckman and Gary Scelzi, while he also had to hope
that John Force would not out-qualify him by 35 Showdown points.
Worsham (9th) out-qualified Beckman (13th) while Scelzi and Toliver
both failed to make the race field here. As for Force, he outpaced
Worsham, but not by enough to get around him and the improbable
qualifying scenario was complete. The final math equation resulted in
Worsham not only making the Showdown, but doing so in the seventh
position, while Force completed his own unlikely comeback by moving
into the eighth position.

Frank Hawley has been around drag racing long enough to know an
incredible upset when he sees one. He almost had a front row seat for
one in Reading when he came close to winning the Toyo Tires Nationals
at Maple Grove Raceway.

His final round against Jack Beckman marked only his fourth race of the
season and first race in two months and their first with Rite Aid. It
wasn’t a fluke. Hawley qualified second with a 4.128-second time.

A two-time Funny Car series champion (1982-83), Hawley began
eliminations by defeating his teammate, Melanie Troxel (4.355 seconds,
247.57 mph to 4.670 at 214.66), reigning Funny Car champion Tony
Pedregon (4.211, 289.76 to 4.223 at 288.95) and Mike Neff (4.237 at
284.39 to 4.294 at 276.75) before squaring off against Beckman.

Less than a year ago, a battered John Force was holed up in a hospital bed with a plethora of injuries related to an accident during
the NHRA Fallnationals in Dallas, Texas. Force had made his way into
the Countdown to Four points with the round victory which ended his
season.

An emotional Force plotted every which way he could return to
competition, even though he couldn’t walk, push the gas pedal or much
less grip the steering wheel.

Travis Harvey proved last Saturday night that he can win a big race
- even in the midst of the boss. The Mad Dawg event in Mooresville,
N.C., ran late into the night, and when the smoke cleared, August 16,
first time event winner, Travis Harvey, hoisted the Mad Dawg trophy -
dispelling all rumors that car owner Russ Farmer is bad luck. 

"They told me I couldn't come tonight, but I showed up anyway," laughed Race Tech Race Cars owner, Russ Farmer.
 
Harvey, resident of Burlington, NC is having a spectacular year, which
started in July with his first ever Big Dog trophy - an event Harvey
won while Farmer was on vacation creating grounds for the good-natured
ribbing. Harvey's Mad Dawg performance on Saturday, was anything but a
joke, as he dipped into the teens to qualifying No. 1 in the heat with
a 4.19 elapsed time at a series high 181 miles per hour. 
 
First round of eliminations got underway as the sun sank low in
Mooresville's sky, and the packed grandstands were ready for some
heads-up doorslammers. In round one action, eventual winner, Travis
Harvey had to first catch Darrin Hoyle, who took an early lead out of
the gate (.026 -.049). Hoyle's 4.24 came up short at the stripe though,
as Harvey goes low for the round with a 4.18, 180mph.

Richard Hogan will
return to Don Schumacher Racing as crew chief on the Mopar/Oakley Dodge
Charger R/T Funny Car driven by Gary Scelzi, beginning at the U.S.
Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend. Hogan will step in
while Todd Okuhara continues to recuperate from a viral inner-ear
infection.

Hogan previously worked at DSR as crew chief on the Top Fuel dragster
driven by Melanie Troxel in 2006. He tuned Troxel to two victories in
nine final rounds that season.

"Our two biggest concerns at DSR are that we allow Todd to recuperate
fully and that the team perform well for all the sponsors," said
Schumacher. "It's been a major burden on Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge
tuner Phil Shuler, who's been pulling double-duty to also tune the
Mopar/Oakley Dodge, and the other DSR crew chiefs who have lent their
support."

The National Football League had the New England Patriots in 2007.

In 2008, drag racing has Tony Schumacher.

The Chicago-based driver, who drives the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster,
thundered to his 51st career victory by defeating Larry Dixon in the
final round at Maple Grove this past weekend.  His NHRA Toyo Tires
Nationals triumph marked his fifth in a row and tenth of the season.

“This is incredible,” said the five-time world champion. “I could try
to explain [the experience] all day long but this has been a gift of a
season. You wake up every day and realize … we’ve been together for
five years and we’ve already won nine races in a season and now ten.
We’ve come back from ten races. Of all the season’s, this has been the
most dominant.”

Rarely does a student get to match skill against their teacher.

During the Funny Car final round at the NHRA Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, Pa., Frank Hawley learned just how good of
an instructor he is. Beyond that, he found out just how good of an
instructor he’s got on staff at his Frank Hawley Drag Racing School.

Jack Beckman was merely basking in the glow of the opportunity to race his mentor.

"Imagine being a Little League player and you get to pitch against
Mickey Mantle,” Beckman said. “Frank Hawley has been all of that to the
sport. To have him come back in adds a whole other dimension to
this...and, hell no, I wasn't going to cut him any slack.”

Sunday'S two-car Pro Stock final at the NHRA Toyo Tires Nationals in
Reading, Pa., provided a win-win situation for Team Cagnazzi, who
started the
season with only one team car and now has three since Connolly returned
and adopted Ron Krisher earlier in the season.

"We knew we couldn't go wrong with Dave (Connolly) and me in the finals
for Cagnazzi Racing, but it felt good to get the win light there
against my teammate," Coughlin said. "Congratulations to Victor
(Cagnazzi, team owner) and the entire team back in Mooresville (N.C.);
they've done a fantastic job. We're hoping this is a sign of things to
come when we start the Countdown in Charlotte. We've had a pretty slow
summer, but the last couple of races we've gone to the finals (Sonoma)
and the semis (Brainerd), and to pull off a win here is huge."