Monday notes from post CSK Nationals testing at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona. 

AH LEAH! AGAIN -
Less than 24 hours after Jack Beckman’s Sunday Funny Car triumph in the
Checkers Schuck’s Kragen Nationals, the Valvoline/Mail Terminal
Services Dodge he drove to victory was sitting in the staging lanes at
Firebird Raceway.  But ‘Fast Jack’ wasn’t in the driver’s seat.

Hey, it’s the NHRA “Monday Nationals”, the traditional test day
following a national event, and team owner Don Schumacher was
fulfilling a commitment made to 19-year-old Leah Pruett-LeDuc, an
aspiring Funny Car driver.  Pruett-LeDuc, married just a week, is from
Cherry Valley, Calif., and while her last name is new, her driving
ambition has been with her for 11 years. 

Not many drivers leave a Sharpie pen sitting on the rear deck of the race car and encourage race fans to

Roger Richards Photo

sign their autographs. But then again, Billy Glidden is not your average driver.

“It's just appreciation from us,” said Glidden. “We started doing it 2
years ago with the black car [his Outlaw 10.5-inch tire car] in
Chicago.  With that car we always gave people the option of if we did
well they could come and take pictures with us at the end of the race. 
Most of the time we're just hoping that we can qualify.”

The new tower at Gainesville Raceway is
mostly complete, fitted with glass and adorned with sculptures of the
famed Gatornationals mascot and the NHRA logo. The ACDelco NHRA
Gatornationals, the traditional East Coast opener and the season's
first of 17 events for Pro Stock Motorcycle riders, is schueled for
March 13-16.

Jim Head is as old school as Funny car drivers come but even he can’t help but notice the power of

Roger Richards Photo

today’s primary news medium – the Internet.

Two weeks ago, Head pleaded with Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com to help
him get the word out that he’s ready to step aside and let someone have
his spot in the cockpit. He proudly proclaims some serious inquiries.

“They are all serious when they call,” Head said. “I had the word out
there, but we didn’t get as many calls as we did when the word got out
there. Now, it rings quite a bit. I don’t have a check, but the
prospects are very strong.”

Don Ness prefers a low profile when he’s making his way through the race track. He prefers to let the cars he has in competition get all the accolades

Ness has a lot going on in his shop, probably too much to be at the track, but he’s intent that customer relations and the interaction holds a high degree of importance. He’s got a couple of key projects on the jig such as a second Outlaw 10.5-inch tire car for Johnny Gray and a new Pro Stocker for Larry Morgan. In fact, he’s building six cars simultaneously.

The fast-pace of today’s Pro Stock world still impresses him after all these years. He comes to the races to keep up on the rapid progression of the class within the trenches.

NHRA has announced that O’Reilly Auto Parts has
agreed to a multiyear extension to be the title-rights sponsor of the
O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka through 2010.
O’Reilly Auto Parts has maintained the title-rights sponsorship of the
event since 2002.

"O’Reilly Auto Parts is extremely excited to have the
opportunity to continue our long-term association with NHRA and
Heartland Park Topeka," said Doug Ruble, vice president of marketing
and advertising for O’Reilly Auto Parts. "Our relationship with NHRA
has grown significantly over the years, and we welcome the opportunity
to continue this great relationship and enable our customers to the
amazing experience and excitement of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing."

Few would argue O’Reilly Auto Parts’ deep commitment
to NHRA. In addition to the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, the
auto-parts giant maintains title-rights sponsorship of five NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing series events, in Houston, St. Louis, Bristol,
Memphis, and Dallas. Recently, O’Reilly Auto Parts signed a long-term
naming rights deal to historic O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis,
home to the largest drag racing event in the world, the Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals. O’Reilly also is the series sponsor of the successful
O’Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League, an NHRA series for youths
ages 8 to 17.

Tommy Delago knew there was going to be a period of transition when he
accepted the role as new crew chief for the Jack Beckman MTS Funny Car
team.

“It's definitely different,” admitted Delago, who tuned for Bob
Gilbertson last year. “I've been on big teams before but nothing I
guess this nice and this organized with a really good structure.  It's
a good opportunity to learn.”

Delago is quickly discovering the upside to having five other
nitro-burning teammates. Assistance is not far away if he needs it.

A
drought ended in the Arizona desert and not one drop of rain fell. The
drought we speak of was the one that has plagued Larry Dixon for 13
years at Firebird International Raceway.

“There are places that I've been racing longer and still haven't gotten
a win,” admitted Dixon. “I always enjoy coming here - especially with
Charlie Allen running the track.”

The mere mention of Allen’s name is enough to carry Dixon on a journey
down memory lane to his childhood when he accompanied his father, Larry
Dixon, Sr., a former Top Fuel driver to the racetrack.

There’s no better elixir for an ill drag racer than winning. Battling
the effects of the flu bug, Jack Beckman, driver of the Mail Terminal
Services/Valvoline Dodge Charger drove his way to the winner’s circle
by stopping a tire-smoking Robert Hight.

One
of the largest sources of pride for Jack Beckman in this victory is his
crew who were first joined together in the pre-season.

“Every round win is huge, especially when you have the flu and you’re
staging next to Mike Neff,” said Beckman. “This whole crew has never
worked together before this season. They stood up to the challenge and
this is going to pay dividends at the end of the season.”

The Phoenix triumph marked the fourth national event victory for Beckman in
six final round appearances. The dream continues to expand for Beckman,
a cancer survivor who won a sportsman world championship and then
gained the drivers seat of a Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing.

On a day when Mopars reigned supreme, not even “Big Daddy” Don Garlits
could have beat Vieri a.k.a. V. Gaines and his Kendall-sponsored Dodge
Stratus.

With the NHRA CSK Nationals victory, Gaines upped his career national
event victory total to three out of eight final rounds. He entered the
event tied for ninth place in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock points.

”It’s been a long dry spell,” said Gaines, whose last victory came in
2001. “When I beat Greg Anderson today, it marked the first time I’d
beat him since 2001 also. When you do those kinds of things, it makes
victory bittersweet.