2009 NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS - SAME DAY
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SUNDAY FINALS - WORSHAM PICKS UP FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON; BROWN, COUGHLIN, KRAWIEC PICK OF WINS AT GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Del Worsham raced to his first win of the season and first win with Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing at the 13th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.
Antron Brown, Jeg Coughlin and Eddie Krawiec also won in their respective categories.
Worsham drove his Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Solara to a 4.135-second run at 302.48 mph to defeat No. 1 qualifier and current points leader Ron Capps on a holeshot. For Worsham, it’s his first win in over a year; his last coming at Houston Raceway Park in 2007.
“We got here and went down the track all six runs without any problem,” said Worsham. “This team was assembled to do well, win races and win a championship, and I just want to be able to do my part. It was just a huge sense of excitement!”
“Looking back on my career, I’ve made some great passes and great runs, but Ron (Capps) and Tony (Pedregon) always seem to kick my butt, so it’s just a great feeling to be able to win against him.”
In Top Fuel, Antron Brown defeated St. Louis favorite, Budweiser-sponsored Brandon Bernstein, when he drove his DirectTV/Matco Tools dragster to 3.850 at 318.02 mph. It is Brown’s second win in three final round appearances for the season and 20th win of his career.
“That was a just a phenomenal race,” said Brown. “You line up against that Budweiser car with Brandon Bernstein and Rob Flynn. I know what Rob is capable of. Rob won this race last year with “Hot Rod” (Fuller), so he knows about this track and what it can take and hold.”
Coughlin drove past runner-up Jason Line after Line posted a red light in the final round of competition. Coughlin drove his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt to a 6.588 at 208.39 mph for his third win in five final round appearances for the season.
“There’s no question that our team has really jelled together over the past two seasons,” said Coughlin. “We’ve been racing hard, we’ve been racing smart and we’re on the good end of it now with three wins in five final rounds.”
Krawiec rode his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson past runner-up Craig Treble to pick up his second win in as many races for the season. Krawiec’s run of 6.947 at 189.39 mph was strong enough for the defending world champions second career win.
“To come out here and get my second win, it’s just a cool opportunity,” said Krawiec “It’s tough going out there and getting your first win and everyone told me that once you get your first win, it’ll get easy, but I never thought it would get this easy.”
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SPORTSMAN - TAYLOR ADDS TO HIS NHRA WIN TOTAL AT GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Veteran sportsman racer Jeff Taylor earned his 41st NHRA national event win (including two SPORTSnationals victories) this weekend when he made his way to the winner’s circle at the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Int’l Raceway in Madison, Ill. Taylor, a resident of Sellersburg, Ind., earned the win in Super Stock, beating Larry Stewart Jr. of Clinton, Miss., in the final.
Taylor wheeled ’09 Cobalt around some heavy hitters on his way to the win. In round three he squared off against Edmond Richardson, Greenbrier, Tenn., who has 43 NHRA national event wins, and in the semis it was powerhouse racer Peter Biondo of Maspeth, N.Y., who has won 35 NHRA national events. In the fifth round, Taylor beat Lee Sharp, the eventual winner in Comp Eliminator.
Sharp may have lost to Taylor in Super Stock but he went all the way in Comp Eliminator, taking out a giant of his own. The Maryville, Tenn., racer beat ace competitor David Rampy of Piedmont, Ala., in the third round on Sunday. That win gave him a bye into the final where he beat out Shaun Vincent of Omaha, Neb., for his first NHRA national event win.
Nick Folk of Durand, Ill., picked up his fifth NHRA national event win when he beat Terry Edwards of Cameron, Mo., in the Super Comp final. In the semis, Folk ousted standout racer, Gary Stinnett of Emporia, Kan. Larry Bernshausen, Manito, Ill., earned his second NHRA national event win, ousting Elyria, Ohio’s Ray Connolly in the final.
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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - LUCAS TAKES NO. 1 QUALIFIER AT GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY; CAPPS, STANFIELD, HINES ALSO NO. 1 AFTER QUALIFYING
Morgan Lucas continues his hot streak as he took the top spot in Top Fuel at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday.
Two qualifying sessions took to the track on Saturday after rain cancelled qualifying for all classes except for Pro Stock Motorcycle on Friday. This is the seventh of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Ron Capps, Greg Stanfield and Andrew Hines also take No. 1 positions in their respective categories into eliminations on Sunday at 11:00 a. m.
Lucas wheeled his GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster to a pass of 3.881 seconds at 299.46 mph. This is his first No. 1 qualifier of the year, the third of his career, and comes off of his win at Atlanta.
“It feels great to keep the momentum going. You never want to have something really big happen and then just fail the next week miserably, you always want to do the best you can,” said Lucas. “Its not making big changes, not doing anything radical and getting ourselves lost, staying down the path we’ve been going down.”
In Funny Car, Capps, a three time GIR winner, finds himself atop the field in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T with a 4.111-second pass at 297.02 mph to take the top spot. It's Capps’s 9th career No. 1 qualifier and the second of this season.
“For a while number one always felt like you were a little bit jinxed going into Sunday and it didn’t really matter as long as you were top four and had lane choice,” stated Capps. “The more impressive thing was to be rained out yesterday and have Ed McCulloch put me into a car that ran 4.11 in both lanes.”
Stanfield posted the quickest time in the Pro Stock category, as he piloted his Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP, to a run of 6.573 at 210.37. This was the first No. 1 qualifying position for Stanfield since the 2006 race in Reading, PA.
“Usually for our team if we lose two runs it is trouble for us. We ran good in Atlanta and conditions are pretty similar which helped us a lot,” said Stanfield following the qualifying session. “Losing two runs probably helped us because there are some other teams that are stronger than us so maybe it played in our favor.”
Hines was the leader of the Pro Stock Motorcycle field and also set a new national elapsed time record with his pass of 6.860 seconds at 192.14. This was the third top qualifying position of the year for Hines and the 25th of his career.
“It was really going in the first eight-mile and after that it really sailed through there and had enough momentum to carry on through and get that number,” said Hines. “It really didn’t feel that fast and I didn’t know anything until people called me up and said number one qualifier”
Eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m.
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First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol at Gateway International Raceway, the seventh of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Morgan Lucas, 3.881 seconds, 307.02 mph vs. 16. Kevin Jones, 4.459, 194.02; 2. Cory McClenathan, 3.882, 305.08 vs. 15. Chris Karamesines, 4.435, 214.66; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.885, 302.75 vs. 14. Todd Simpson, 4.308, 269.13; 4. Spencer Massey, 3.896, 296.44 vs. 13. John Smith, 4.061, 287.23; 5. Larry Dixon, 3.904, 304.25 vs. 12. Joe Hartley, 4.022, 298.40; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.906, 306.05 vs. 11. T.J. Zizzo, 3.969, 297.16; 7. Antron Brown, 3.906, 298.67 vs. 10. Doug Kalitta, 3.965, 299.60; 8. Clay Millican, 3.910, 294.82 vs. 9. Brandon Bernstein, 3.944, 297.02.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Scott Palmer, 4.720, 167.93; 18. Luigi Novelli, 6.817, 98.56.
Funny Car -- 1. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.111, 298.80 vs. 16. Terry Haddock, Dodge Stratus, 6.072, 110.08; 2. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.143, 282.84 vs. 15. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.740, 173.96; 3. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.144, 298.40 vs. 14. Jerry Toliver, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.715, 173.61; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.144, 297.81 vs. 13. Jim Head, Solara, 4.612, 187.42; 5. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 4.147, 298.67 vs. 12. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.294, 280.60; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.150, 299.33 vs. 11. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.222, 271.35; 7. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.162, 294.95 vs. 10. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.200, 290.51; 8. John Force, Mustang, 4.170, 290.32 vs. 9. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.178, 299.80.
Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GXP, 6.573, 210.37 vs. 16. Dave Northrop, Dodge Stratus, 6.636, 208.17; 2. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.575, 209.85 vs. 15. Justin Humphreys, GXP, 6.636, 208.17; 3. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.576, 210.21 vs. 14. Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.633, 207.98; 4. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.580, 210.05 vs. 13. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.627, 208.94; 5. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.586, 209.92 vs. 12. Rickie Jones, Stratus, 6.620, 208.91; 6. Jason Line, GXP, 6.595, 210.24 vs. 11. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.620, 208.42; 7. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.601, 209.04 vs. 10.
Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.615, 208.30; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.609, 209.56 vs. 9. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.611, 209.14.
Did Not Qualify: 17. David Beckley, 6.643, 208.14; 18. Warren Johnson, 6.648, 208.97; 19. Steve Schmidt, 6.655, 207.85; 20. Ronnie Humphrey, 6.676, 207.59; 21. V. Gaines, 6.679, 206.70; 22. Erica Enders, 6.740, 203.65; 23. Dave River, 7.015, 196.50; 24. Mark Hogan, 7.399, 154.35.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.860, 192.14 vs. 16. David Hope, Buell, 7.114, 185.36; 2. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.907, 192.00 vs. 15. Bailey Whitaker, Buell, 7.108, 183.29; 3. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.921, 190.14 vs. 14. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.065, 190.30; 4. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.927, 191.16 vs. 13. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.042, 189.39; 5. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 6.956, 191.13 vs. 12. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.031, 186.02; 6. Angie McBride, Buell, 6.958, 187.65 vs. 11. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.024, 186.87; 7. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.973, 184.07 vs. 10. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.997, 192.55; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.986, 189.71 vs. 9. Douglas Horne, Buell, 6.994, 187.57.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Mike Berry, 7.223, 182.13; 18. Wesley Wells, 7.269, 178.35.
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FRIDAY - HINES GET TOP SPOT IN PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE BEFORE RAIN WASHES OUT QUALIFYING AT O’REILLY NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
Andrew Hines moved to the top spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle before rain washed out the first two rounds of qualifying at the 15th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.
Persistent rain showers forced NHRA officials to postpone the first rounds of professional qualifying for Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock at the seventh of 24 events on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Hines was able to power his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a 6.920-second run at 189.73 mph before rain storms moved into the area. Pro Stock Motorcycle was the only professional category to complete a round of qualifying.
“It was a long wait but it worked out in our favor because we had to pull our V-Rod apart three times before we got to run,” said Hines. “We fired it up this morning about 10-o’clock and it was huffin a bunch of smoke out of the front cylinder. We pulled the engine apart and checked it out everything seemed to look OK, put it back together fired it up again and it was still huffing smoke. We pulled the front cylinder head off and had to change a couple of valve seals that were leaking pretty bad. We got it back together and everything was ok. We got it right together at 1:55 and we were called up at 2 and we were good to go. The little bit of rain allowed us to get lunch and it worked out in our favor.”
Two rounds of pro qualifying are scheduled for Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m.
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Results Friday after the first one of four rounds of qualifying for the 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol at Gateway International Raceway, seventh of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.920, 189.73; 2. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.965, 190.46; 3. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.983, 192.00; 4. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.986, 189.71; 5. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.009, 191.46; 6. Angie McBride, Buell, 7.016, 186.64; 7. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.024, 186.87; 8. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.031, 186.02; 9. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.068, 187.70; 10. Bailey Whitaker, Buell, 7.108, 183.29; 11. David Hope, Buell, 7.173, 185.36; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.210, 183.97. Not Qualified: 13. Mike Berry, 7.257, 179.71; 14. Wesley Wells, 12.028, 64.35; 15. Craig Treble, 23.889, 23.48; 16. Douglas Horne, 41.594, 22.05; 17. Shawn Gann, broke; 18. Joe DeSantis, broke.
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EVENT PREVIEW - FUNNY CAR DEFENDING WINNER WILKERSON RETURNS TO GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY ON DIFFERENT MISSION
One year ago Wilkerson came to his home track – Gateway International Raceway – looking for a win and hunting down the No. 1 points position in the Full Throttle Series Funny Car standings. This year, the Springfield, Ill. racer is still hunting for a win, however, this time around he’s trying to navigate his way into the top 10 in the ultra-competitive Funny Car class in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Last year he was successful with both goals at GIR. He won the race and he moved into the points lead for the first time in his career. He used that race win as momentum to go on a summer winning spree that flipped the category upside down. He narrowly missed winning his first world championship title in the season-ending playoffs.
Riding the wave from his second place points finish from 2008, Wilkerson’s once independent race operation took on a makeover during the offseason. He decided to partner with Bob Tasca and switched from Chevy Impalas to Ford Shelby Mustangs.
His experiment is still in the initial phase, and while he’s not had the on-track results that he would like in the first six races of the season, he is at the point now in the transition where he’s starting to see the bright light at the end of the tunnel.And that light couldn’t come at a better time.
Wilkerson would like nothing more than to successfully defend his victory from a year ago at the 13th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, May 1-3 at the state-of-the-art motorsports facility located on the bank of the Mississippi River just east of downtown St. Louis.
Rod Fuller (Top Fuel), Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) join Wilkerson as defending winners in their respective categories at the seventh of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The race will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.
At Atlanta, Wilkerson outran teammate Tasca and points leader Ron Capps before losing a close semifinal match to eventual winner Jack Beckman. The veteran driver saw some things at that event that let him know that his team is about to dial in its Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang.
“We're definitely making progress and Atlanta showed that, I think,” Wilkerson said. “We basically made five great laps in a row, and our first-round race on Sunday was our best of the weekend. We also brought out a brand new chassis in Atlanta, as if we haven't been starting from scratch in just about every area all year, anyway. I think some people thought I'd lost my mind when we finished second last year, but came out for 2009 with all new stuff. They'd ask me 'Why don't you just keep running what you had?' but if you don't keep moving forward, you're going to get left behind. With the new chassis and the Shelby Mustang, we're definitely moving forward.”
Long considered a hot-weather tune-up master, Wilkerson enjoys racing in the heat of the summer and specializes in winning at tracks in the Midwest. Last year he won six races and was runner-up at Topeka and most of those wins came from May through August. He expects to have many family and friends cheering him on at GIR, including a massive amount of guests from sponsor Levi Ray & Shoup.
“I guess just about every driver has what they’d consider to be their home track, where all their family and friends come out to see them,” Wilkerson said. “But for us it’s twice as much, because Gateway International is Levi, Ray & Shoup’s home race too, so we’re not lacking for having people rooting for us. The last count I heard, LRS has purchased over 1,000 tickets for the race, so the track people ought to love me and Dick Levi! It’s always an exciting deal to race at Gateway, and winning there was just off the charts, so I don’t know how to top that. Hopefully, we’ll just keep running well and good things will happen to us. Mostly, I just want to make sure all of our guests have something good to cheer for.”
He says the key to running well there all comes down to track temperature.
“Talk about a track that’s totally dependent on the weather,” he explained. “It’s not nearly as tricky as it was all those years we were going there at the end of June and frying eggs on the asphalt. Heck, they actually hosed the whole track down to cool it off one year, and I’ve never seen that before. Now, it can be anywhere from 50 to 80 in St. Louis in early May, so you just have to be ready for anything. If it’s cool, everyone will fly and you have to get after it.”
And this year he’ll get after it with a little more support in his corner. No longer the privateer, he now shares tuning information and data from each run with Tasca’s Motorcraft Quick Lane Shelby Ford Mustang team.
“Just having the resources and the extra knowledge around is big,” Wilkerson said. “Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner are smart guys, and even though we came into this year tuning our cars from different angles, we’ve all been sharing our data to see where the common ground is, or to see where one team might have an answer to a problem area for the other. Bob Tasca is a really great asset to us, and to the whole sport, too. He’s high energy and he’s always thinking about how to make things better, for both of our teams. From a marketing standpoint, we couldn't be doing all the new things we’ve got going now without Bob because he’s allowed us to basically merge our pits together for our corporate guests. So far, the whole thing has been a big plus, but I think both teams will get even more out of it as the season progresses.”
While Wilkerson continues to work hard toward finding the race-winning mojo that he enjoyed last season, points leader Capps will be trying to keep it going in his NAPA Dodge Charger. The California driver has won three races this season and says he and crew chief Ed “The Ace” McCulloch and the rest of their NAPA crew are trying to “rip their hearts out” on every run. He’s had great success at Gateway over the years, winning here three times, his most recent in 2007. Beckman’s Atlanta victory propelled him five spots in the points order to second place. Ashley Force Hood, who won in Houston in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, was the No. 1 qualifier and runner-up in Atlanta and will be a contender at GIR. Others to watch include rookie Matt Hagan, who was runner-up in Las Vegas, Gatornationals winner Tasca, and two-time GIR winner John Force.
In Top Fuel, points leader Schumacher is setting the pace once again this season with two victories in his U.S. Army dragster, but a
In Pro Stock, 2006 GIR winner Mike Edwards has the momentum based on his Atlanta victory in his ART Pontiac GXP. However, four-time world champ Jeg Coughlin is leading the series standings early on in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt with two victories in four final round appearances. Coughlin won at St. Louis in 2002. Jason Line has never won the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, however he does have two wins this season and is in second place in the points order. Three-time and defending GIR winner Kurt Johnson and ’04 Midwest Nationals winner Greg Anderson are in the top 10 in points with some strong runs, but are still looking for their first season wins.
The top two points holders in Pro Stock Motorcycle – Matt Smith and Hines -- have yet to win a race this season, but they are the last two winners of this event. The three winners this season include journeyman Hector Arana, veteran Craig Treble and defending series champ Eddie Krawiec, who claimed his first career Wally in Atlanta aboard his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. The big surprise this season in the two-wheel category is rookie Doug Horne, whose lighting quick reflexes at the starting line have earned the Buell rider from Maryland back-to-back runner-up finishes and the title of major contender among a talented crop of NHRA rookies who are vying for the 2009 Auto Club Road to the Future Award.
