2009 NHRA ROUTE 66 NATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - THERE WERE SOME KICKS ON ROUTE 66
TOP FUEL
CHILDHOOD DREAMS, ADULT REALITY - Fifteen years ago seems like yesterday to Spencer Massey.
As a 12-year old, Massey, an aspiring second-generation drag racer, received a high-five from legendary Don “Snake” Prudhomme in celebration of what would be the legend’s final national event victory.
That monumental victory came during Prudhomme’s 1994 Final Strike tour. Little did that kid know that many years later, on a rain-delayed Sunday afternoon in Joliet, he’d be celebrating a Top Fuel win just like Prudhomme had done so many years ago. To add icing to the cake, Massey's first NHRA Top Fuel win came in Prudhomme’s dragster.
“It really hasn’t all sunk in and this season has been a dream,” Massey said. “I don’t want anyone to pinch me because I don’t want to wake up from it. We’ve needed to do well and we’ve needed to go rounds.”
Massey’s monumental victory came at the expense of No. 1 qualifier Antron Brown.
“You couldn’t write the book any better,” said Massey, who pointed out this weekend’s race was sponsored by United Association, also a major associate sponsor for Snake Racing.
“It would have been nice to win any of the other races before this one, but we have been trying to cure all of the problems we’ve had. We started to get a handle on it last week and it showed this weekend. Donnie [Bender] and Todd [Smith] can make a car go down the track.”
Massey took over the driving chores this year, sitting in a car that finished No. 2 last season in the NHRA Full Throttle Championship points chase and admittedly the team has struggled to perform, including suffering an uncharacteristic DNQ two races ago at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
The team relentlessly looked in every nook and cranny of the car. Every inch of the car was scrutinized. Massey isn’t shy about sharing what they were looking for.
“Making the car more consistent,” Massey admitted. “Making sure that everything was perfect … not that it wasn’t before, but we found key little things that were a little off that may have been a loop into the situation. It showed this weekend that we have a consistent car and ready to go after the Full Throttle championship.”
He might be a rookie by NHRA’s standards, but even as a freshman nitro racer last year on the IHRA tour, Massey performed like a season veteran, winning his debut event. He added three more IHRA national event titles to his resume en route to winning the IHRA world championship.
Granted there’s nothing like hitting a home run in the major leagues, but when you excel in the minor leagues as Massey did, one doesn't forget the experience. Massey didn’t. Dreamers have to begin somewhere.
“Honestly, [winning this race] almost compares to the IHRA championship. Don’t get me wrong the IHRA championship is unbelievable to win. It’s a Top Fuel category whether it’s NHRA or IHRA. I’ve been watching the NHRA races since I was four years old. I wanted to grow up and race Top Fuel like Eddie Hill, Joe Amato and Don Prudhomme since then.”
The opportunity to follow in the company of those legends immediately pressured Massey to win, and when they didn’t come as quickly as they did in IHRA competition, he only tried harder. He wanted to deliver for the new boss.
“Of course I would have loved to have had a win a little earlier,” Massey admitted. “It wasn’t for me … not that I was spoiled, but for Snake. To have a car that was No. 2 last year in the points, has proven to win championships and races, and we just got into a little down-slump and it was just a matter of time before they got the grip back on things and got us to the winner’s circle.
“Drag racing is like life in that it is up and down. Sometimes it’s a race and sometimes it’s a drag.”
It certainly was not a drag this weekend.
MAYBE NO. 1 ISN'T THE BEST SPOT – Antron Brown, driving the MATCO Tools dragster, has been the fastest qualifier seven times in his short Top Fuel career. He has not yet been able to convert a top qualifying spot into a win. In his first meeting against rookie Spencer Massey, in the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco dragster owned by Don Schumacher, Brown got beat at the light, pulled back out front and then lost as his car nosed over at the finish.
IN THE TOP TEN NOW - Ever since Clay Millican made the proclamation, headed into Topeka, that his team had reached the point 
where they needed to make a run at the points, the MPE/Motorvation Top Fuel dragster has been relentless.
Millican fell one round short of reaching consecutive final rounds when he smoked the tires against Antron Brown.
“I don’t like to lose, but if I was going to lose to anyone, I’m glad it was Antron,” Millican said. “We have a good working relationship with his Matco team.
“We knew we needed to make our car run quicker and it was very close to making it, but we just didn’t quite get away with. We had a great weekend, though. It’s really coming together. We have a good group guys on our team.”
Millican’s Chicago performance pulled the team into tenth place in the Full Throttle points.
SCHUMACHER'S STREAK IS FINISHED - All good things come to an end, even if your name is Tony Schumacher.
Schumacher, who has been unstoppable in the first round for 35
consecutive races, smoked the tires against 15th qualifier Terry
Haddock and lost in the first round for the first time since Richmond
of 2007.
“It’s pretty simple – they got down the track and we didn’t,”
Schumacher said. “We had such a good couple of days of qualifying, so
I’m not sure why we suddenly didn’t have a clean run. But, that’s drag
racing and we just have to put this one out of our minds and move on.”
Schumacher left the starting line before Haddock and was ahead at the
330-foot mark, but his U.S. Army dragster began to lose traction at
around half-track and Haddock, last season’s IHRA Funny Car world
champion, steamed on by.
“As soon as I felt the tires go up I tried to pedal it a couple of
times, but I just couldn’t get the car to settle down,” added the
six-time world champion. “I’m sure the team is frustrated, but we’ll
definitely come back from this. We’re like our Army Strong soldiers –
we know we have the strength to win. We’ve proven that already.”
IT’S CHEAPER TO REPEAT – Last year, Tony Pedregon lost a body and most of a chassis during a qualifying run for the Route 66 
Nationals, a race he eventually won. This year Pedregon was as dominating as he was last year, it just didn't cost him nearly as much to grab the win.
“We had a good race and run tough opponents all day,” said Pedregon following an easy win of a tire-smoking Ashley Force Hood. “This win cost a lot less than the win here last year did. That’s definitely a good thing. The economy is tough so just like any other business is feeling the heat, we are too. We are trying to stay competitive and be the best we can be and use less, and I’m so proud for Quaker State. Getting to the semi-finals and getting to some final rounds is great - but it’s really all about winning. We feel confident that we are going to make the Countdown, we just have to keep doing the work in order to get there. We want to be in the top five, outside of that we just want to win races.”
On Saturday, Pedregon talked about how he and his team had decided it was time to get a little more aggressive on race day; to push a little harder for the win.
“The last couple of races we lost we just got flat outrun, that’s not a good feeling,” Pedregon explained. “I think what Dickie was able to do is really find the medium. These cars can make all the power you want, you just have to apply it. I thought the conditions were there for them. The tricky part is going to be when we get to some other tracks that aren’t as nice as this. But on this track and on this day, I had a feeling we were going to be pretty hard to beat today.”
The feeling was right, even though one of his wins came against his brother, Cruz.
“Cruz and I have done this for so long that we are very professional about it. The way I look at it is Cruz, is very talented on the track when he’s driving and I think Dickie has that same respect for Rahn Tobler which probably explains the 4.06. Dickie knew what those guys were going to try to do and he had to give it all it had. Everyone hung in there and made it a good race. For Cruz and I both to make it to the semi-finals, that’s a good day at the office for us.”
A PAT ON THE BACK? - Caught up in the euphoria of victory, Tony Pedregon let it slip that John Force, his old boss, actually came up to him in the staging lines just before the final run and wished him luck.
“I wasn't sure what he was up to,” laughed Cruz, adding, “John and I have a lot of respect for each other and I think it was a great gesture for him to wish us luck.”
SECOND PLACE AGAIN - Ashley Force Hood battled the heat, rain and a host of strong Funny Cars as she raced to a runner-up finish at the 12th annual United Association NHRA Rt. 66 Nationals today. In the final she and eventual winner Tony Pedregon left almost simultaneously but Force Hood’s Castrol GTX Mustang smoked the tires about 200 feet from the starting line. Force Hood pedaled quickly hoping to regain the lost momentum but Pedregon pulled away from her for the win.
This was Force Hood’s third final round in five races and she moved within two points of Tony Pedregon who advanced to second place in the Full Throttle point standings.
“I think we did great this weekend. You always want to win and you are bummed when you don’t. Sometimes you do have to push it and roll the dice. You are not going to win championships being timid. We took a chance and maybe it didn’t work out for us this time but I bet it will work out another time. We will just keep trying. Our Mustang is running really well in all kinds of conditions.
“This has been a challenging race for me. I don’t know what it was about it. I had a lot of issues with thinking about things and changing routine. I was maybe trying a little too much. That can sometimes push you backwards,” said Force Hood.
“That we got to the final with me having a weird weekend might not be noticeable from the outside but sometimes you just have those weekends. It doesn’t come so easy. I felt like I was battling a little bit. I am very happy with this weekend. I know the guys will be too when they get past tonight. We have been to three finals in five races. We did a pretty dang good job this weekend. This wasn’t a random weekend. That is a great feeling to go to semis and finals one after another. We’ll just keep trying to do that.”
STILL ON TOP - Ron Capps maintained his points lead in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car class following his first-round exit at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway today.
Del Worsham, who entered the event second in the standings, also was ousted in the first round, moving Ashley Force Hood into that spot, but with Force Hood’s runner-up finish today, winner Tony Pedregon has jumped into second place and Capps is now (unofficially) 58 markers ahead of him.
After a morning rain shower, track conditions cooled, clouds covered the raceway and competition began. Without lane choice as the No. 16 qualifier, Capps faced off against the 2007 Funny Car world champion and No. 1 qualifier Tony Pedregon in the opening stanza. Capps launched a tick ahead of Pedregon, and, despite posting his quickest lap of the weekend, 4.184 seconds at 296.37 mph, he lost to Pedregon, who took the win by .0818 of a second with a 4.093/303.57 pass.
"Actually, the lanes had nothing to do with it today," said Capps. "In fact, we quite honestly thought the left lane was a little better. But we saw a lot of top-half qualifiers in front of us select the right lane and we figured Tony would be over there, anyhow.
"This is a great track. And this is why we chose to run the way we ran this weekend. We tried to do a little bit of testing because later in the year we're going to see conditions like this and we need to be ahead of everybody, and it will benefit us when it comes down to the last three races of the season. It put us in No. 16 in qualifying, but, we had a decent points lead so we weren't concerned.
"I really want to stress that Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) and Ronnie (Thompson, assistant crew chief) and all the NAPA guys have worked really hard to put us in a position, by winning the four races that we won and building up our points, where we could try some things during a race weekend. You have to do that or you're going to lose a test session day. With only four (non-race-weekend) test sessions allowed during a season, you're going to hear drivers talking about it more and more of how important those four sessions are.
"It's very, very important to be able to try some things you can use down the road," he added. "And we looked at the conditions this weekend as those we would likely be seeing in the last three or four races of the year, in the Countdown: some cool conditions, some very good track surfaces. And we know how Pomona (Calif., for the season-closer) is going to be. You're going to have to run high 3.90s or low 4.0s the last race of the season. We're working on that.
"Neither NAPA, Don Schumacher nor I have a problem with doing it this way. We're trying to make ourselves better and that's just the bottom line.
"It's unfortunate that we got put in a position to run Tony, who's had a great car this weekend. But, you have to remember, championships are won on those hot an humid tracks that we're going to see for the next couple of months and the beginning of the Countdown.
"That is when you really have to be on your game. Track conditions and the weather conditions that we saw this weekend evens everybody out. It really does. You can almost throw everything at it up there.
ALL IN FIRST ROUND – Not since the second event in Las Vegas last year has John Force Racing been able to advance all four cars to the second round of eliminations. That smudge on the record was wiped clean as Ashely Force Hood led the foursome into the second round in the Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois.
Eventual winner Tony Pedregon took out Robert Hight and John Force fell to Mike Nefrf in the second round. Neff then fell to Ashley Force in the semis.
A FOURTH FOR JEGGIE - Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won four NHRA Pro Stock championships by understanding one simple fact of drag 
racing. One cannot win a race if they don’t get to the finish line.
Coughlin won a class-leading fourth national event in 2009 by winning the United Association NHRA Route 66 Nationals over No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards. The victory extends his points lead over second place Edwards to 93 points.
"We've been fortunate to go to a lot of finals and win a lot of rounds this year but we've also had times when we've had to outright abort some runs," Coughlin said. "Our biggest goal for the weekend was to get this JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt to go straight every run and get to the finish line under power. We did that, thanks to the guys in our pit, and this win is really just a result of that effort. It's very satisfying."
After beating first-timer Ryan Ondrejko in Round 1, Coughlin faced three of the toughest drivers in the class to earn his 45th career Pro Stock title. His impressive march started with a .014-second quarterfinal win over six-time world champion Warren Johnson. He then slipped by three-time world champion Greg Anderson by just .005 seconds, before squaring off with top qualifier Edwards, who has enjoyed a clear performance advantage over the entire class this season.
Although every run Edwards posted this weekend leading up to the finals was quicker than Coughlin's final-round run of 6.663 at 207.30 mph, it didn't matter as Edwards crept through the staging beams and red-lighted, handing Coughlin and his jubilant crew the trophy before either man popped the clutch.
"Mike's been in a zone of his own for the last several races and he's such a good racer that you know you need to get up on the wheel to race him," Coughlin said. "He was clearly quicker than us by at least two-hundredths of a second going into the final so I was really focused on hitting the tree. I went by it and felt like I'd really gotten it and then as I was shifting into second gear I caught the win light flashing in my lane out of my peripheral vision and the party started. If you could have seen inside my helmet you would have seen a grin as big as Texas."
JUST A TAD TOO QUICK – Mike Edwards had been strong through the first three rounds of eliminations, running down each one of his competitors after getting beat on a hole shot. Edwards reaction times in the first three rounds were .077, .095 and .085 against .005, .087 and .033. Each time Edwards clearly had the horsepower to get to the line first.
Then he came up again Jeg Coughlin. Coughlin hadn't been the fastest off the line with times of .047, .040 and .051. Not stellar, but clearly better than Edwards.
That thought may have been in Edwards mind as the two pre-staged, staged and then blasted down the track. Unfortunately for Edwards, his -.021 brought out the red light giving Coughlin a very easy win, his fourth of the season.
ESPN reported that Edwards crew adjusted the air gap on the clutch because Edwards had expressed concern over his reaction times.
EVERYTHING JUST WENT RIGHT - “That was one hell of an afternoon,” Matt Guidera admitted as he celebrated his first win of the 
season, his career fourth.
The weekend didn't start out quite so sweet. After the first two rounds of qualifying Guidera was 14th fastest; not quick enough for one of the top 12 locked in spots. The team went to work on the motor Friday night but rain into trouble.
“We had trouble with pulling the valve springs on Friday night. We actually couldn't get the valve springs out of the motor. We were sitting there beating on the valve springs trying to get them out and they just wouldn't budge. So, we ended up having to change motors just so we could get fresh valve springs in the bike so we would have a chance to go fast Saturday.”
The team worked until 1:30 early Saturday morning before heading to back to the hotel for a couple hours of sleep.
“We were so bad on Friday, we had to make some drastic changes on the motorcycle to get it to wake up.”
Whatever the team did, it worked. Guidera was third quickest in the third round and fourth quick in the final round of qualifying. The extra speed moved them from 14th in the order to 10th. Next on the list was getting fast enough to compete with those ahead of him.
“This morning I came to the track with tons of ideas to make the bike faster, but the question was 'do you do something?' I couldn't leave well enough alone so I went in and made some changes and that thing went out there and ran like a ape.”
Guidera did such a good job with his bike, after his second round win NHRA tech inspectors paid the team a visit.
“I rode the wheels off of that thing in the second round and I knew I had a fast bike. Then all of a sudden thee tech guys show up. I just had to talk them out of the trailer so I could keep my mind focused.”
RED MEANS DON'T GO – Hector Arana, Karen Stoffer and Mike Berry all fell victim to red light starts during the first round of eliminations. Stoffer gave up the win to first-time rider Katie Sullivan. Mike Berry's red light gave Matt Smith and easy round win and one much appreciated by Don Schumacher Racing. Smith's victory was the only bright spot for DSR in first round eliminations.
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -
TOMORROW, TOMORROW, IT'S ONLY A DAY AT AWAY - “Tomorrow is going to be another day,” said Antron Brown after locking in his 
fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season. “The track conditions are going to be great. We are just going to go out there and race. We're going to take it one round at a time.
“I'm excited about tomorrow and I am ready for tomorrow.”
Brown admitted the team didn't really work on holding onto the top spot, that was just gravy. Instead, the team worked on making a smooth pass and then tossed the tool box into the mix to see what the track would hold.
“The first run was a nice, mild pass,” explained Brown. We went an 86 flat the first run today . That is just what they were trying to run; to get a tune up you need to get past the early rounds. Today, we had nothing to lose on the last pass so we went out there to see what the track could really hold.”
Based on the two runs today, Brown is confident the team has the data they need to cover the conditions they will face tomorrow; all they need to do is keep from getting greedy.
AND THEN THERE IS NO. 2 - U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher held on to the second starting position here Saturday following final qualifying for tomorrow’s United Association Route 66 Nationals here at Route 66 Raceway.
Schumacher posted a 3.836-second pass at 311.99 mph in session number four and in the process clinched his fourth straight top three starting spot.
“That was a pretty impressive run,” said Schumacher. “We actually got knocked down to third by Larry Dixon right before we ran, but we came back with an Army Strong type of effort. We’re ready to go racing on Sunday.”
The Chicago-area resident will take on 15th-place qualifier, Terry Haddock, in the first round of eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. CDT. Schumacher and Haddock will be meeting in round one for the second time in the last three races.
“We’ve had a good last couple of days, but we’re going to have to get into race mode now,” added the defending world champion. “We’ll wipe the slate clean and come back tomorrow focused on Terry Haddock.”
Schumacher arrived at his home track clutching the Top Fuel points lead over Antron Brown, who claimed the pole. He’s determined to drive home Sunday night still leading the standings while carrying another event trophy.
“That’s the plan,” said Schumacher, who is a three-time winner at Route 66 Raceway. “My U.S. Army dragster is really performing well at the moment. We’d like to go deep into the day tomorrow.”
As is always the case when Schumacher competes at Route 66 Raceway, he’ll have plenty of support in the stands given a large contingent of family and friends.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to stage one huge victory party for them,” he said.
NO FREE PASS TODAY - Tony Pedregon remembers the good old days of Funny Car when the No. 1 qualifier used to get a pretty good 
draw in the first round, usually a duck of an opponent, one who couldn’t get out of his own way.
Those were the days.
For qualifying No. 1 at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, the two-time world champion gained anything but an easy ride to the second round. His efforts landed a first round match against the current Full Throttle point leader Ron Capps.
“We’re running pretty good here and they have to get their problems sorted out in one run,” Pedregon said.
The day wasn’t all peaches and cream for Pedregon, as unfavorable weather blew through delaying qualifications and making driving a challenge to even those most seasoned competitors.
“I don’t know if you could see the car from where you were,” Pedregon told the gathered media in the post-qualifying press conference. “There were two or three times in that 4.07 run that I wanted to get out of the throttle.”
Pedregon said the front-end on Funny Cars in that situation, sometimes get light, and are not so easy to steer.
“I had my hands full and I’m glad no one took the top spot away from us,” Pedregon continued. “I know the statistics are not favorable to those who qualify No. 1, but I’m not superstitious. I’m pleased that our car is consistent and consistently quick. I think we have come a long way in a week.”
Then there is that 500 pound gorilla in the back of his mind, no offense to Capps.
“I still have Capps to deal with,” Pedregon confirmed. “I am going to put him out of my mind. I may think about it once or twice … ten times … between now and then. It’s all the same.”
Gorillas, ducks … who can tell the difference?
THAT WAS ODD, REALLY ODD - One of the more off occurrences of Saturday qualifying at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals transpired during the third qualifying session when Bob Tasca’s tree flashed and went green but John Force’s didn’t and went red.
Force rolled into the beams but neither pre-stage or stage lights would illuminate. Tasca couldn’t hold his car any longer and left the starting line on green.
NHRA officials deemed the miscue a tree malfunction and granted Force the opportunity to rerun the qualifying attempt. Under crew chief Austin Coil’s orders the team returned to the pits, refueled and returned for the completion of the run.
Force wanted to back up and run immediately, but Coil was concerned the car didn’t have enough nitro in the tank to reach the finish line. The team passed on making any clutch adjustments for the sake of falling right in line with Top Fuel qualifying.
“It wouldn’t have been fair to the other racers if we came back out 40 minutes later and ran low E.T.,” Force told ESPN 2. “We whipped her back in the pits … I never got out of my firesuit … whipped her back around and I still don’t know what took place.
“I kept rolling and rolling forward, the lights wouldn’t come on and the next thing I knew Tasca took off. I said, ‘ain’t no way I’m going for this. I got my shot, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Force ran a 4.127, 301.20 on his makeup run, a good run but not what Coil wanted for the session.
“That put more heat in the clutch,” Coil admitted. “It no doubt made the clutch slip more than we had intended. Instead of it stepping up, it ran about the same. That’s the breaks of the game.”
YOU COULD ONLY HEAR IT HERE - "I wouldn't have done it before, but now after being here, I would turn off my soap opera to watch drag racing." - Carol Wood, wife of NASCAR car owner Eddie Wood, second generation Wood Brothers.
A TURNAROUND - Possibly the best news of the weekend for John Force Racing was the progress that Robert Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock have made with their Auto Club Ford Mustang. With nearly every run they got from point A to point B. In the night session last night they were bitten by some bad luck but when it counted in the last qualifying session they brought their “A” game to Rt. 66 Raceway.
“Last night on the night run that is what we thought it might run. It looked like it should have run that. It closed the gap on a spark plug and then it dropped a cylinder. That wasn’t a tune up issue. It wasn’t anything but just bad luck. Had we run that 4.14 last night we would have been in a lot better shape both runs today so we started behind again,” said Hight.
“I was really paying attention to who was qualified and who could bump us back and who couldn’t when I was in the lanes. When it came our turn to run I knew we could not get bumped out and lots of our guys we trying to tell Jimmy to go for low ET. I spoke up and said no. I said we need to go down the race track. If we mess up tonight we are dead. We would go into first round still hunting. If we make a respectable run it will give Jimmy something to tune for first round. I don’t care who we are racing or anything else. It has got to start going down the race track. It was a nice run. It wasn’t a barnburner but Jimmy can look at that run and see where he can tweek it. We need to tweet and not hunt.”
“Trust me I am ecstatic about going down the track. The next thing after this is we need to go to the next race no matter what happens tomorrow with the same parts. We can’t go and hunt next week for something else that is going to maybe make us better. We need to work out what we have. I home that come Indy we have the same parts on this Mustang and we have just refined this combination. We don’t need to be searching and hunting and testing every week. We have to refine this just like Guido has done with Ashley’s Mustang.”
THE DREAM CONTINUES – By his own admission, Mike Edwards is “living the dream”. A dream that has led him to his sixth No.1 
qualifying effort in the first ten races of season. And, as in the case of the previous five efforts, Edwards was humble in his accomplishment.
“It’s an honor to be in the position that we are in now,” Edwards said. “It’s so hard to do it [qualify No. 1] and to do it as many times as we have, I’m amazed myself.”
Recently, it appears all Edwards has to do is lay down a fast lap and then work on getting a setup for Sunday.
“We kept pecking away at the track and kept getting better and better,” Edwards said. “I feel comfortable right now and we made some adjustments to the car on that last run. We helped it and hopefully we can make a few more adjustments and be even better tomorrow.”
If there has been an Achilles heel in Edwards program it's been not being able to convert pole wins into race wins; consequently Edwards does not lead the point standings. Yet, like everything else, he accepts what fate has to offer and smiles.
“I feel like I have given some races away,” Edwards said. “Does it bother me to not lead the points? No. For me to be in the position I am in now, I’m overwhelmed and standing in company that I’ve never been with before with the Summit cars and the Jegs car … those people win championships. When I can be mentioned with those people …
“I feel like my team has overcome a lot. We’ve made a lot of good decisions over the winter and a lot of good progress. I feel very good about where we are at now and what we are doing. It’s all my guys … my guys at the shop … Paul and Nick … they’ve worked continuously and all of the guys here at the track … Josh, Terry, Al and John … all of my people. Sometimes you just get on a roll and things start clicking. You feel good about every time you come up to the line and what is going to happen. I think that’s because we are doing so well.”
DARK NIGHTS – For the second week in a row V. Gaines failed to qualify. Gaines got close this weekend, however close doesn't convert to a Sunday afternoon of racing. Gaines 6.679 was nine thousandths of a second slower than he needed to go to bump Ronnie Humphrey from the 16-car field.
Joining Gaines on the early march home is Newark, Ohio native Larry Morgan. Morgan was 20th fastest over the two days of qualifying, clearing struggling to get the track.
Gaines is in the first few races of a new in-house engine program after previously leasing engines from Morgan.
CONSISTENCY KEY FOR KURT - Another afternoon of Pro Stock qualifying for the NHRA Route 66 Nationals had ACDelco's Kurt Johnson improving upon his Friday performance. The 46-year-old Northeast Georgia resident stepped up to a 6.622 e.t. during Saturday's first session of time trials, and that has Johnson in the No. 5 slot for Sunday's eliminator at Route 66 Raceway.
"Everybody came together, we made some changes, they were the right changes and we ran fast," Johnson said. "We weren't the fastest out there, but we're fast enough that if we get a little luck we can put this ACDelco Chevy in the winner's circle. This car is good enough to win on Sunday."
After struggling through round one of time trials on Friday, Johnson and his ACDelco team came back and turned in three, nearly identical runs of 6.62 seconds. That demonstrated a combination of consistency and performance that will make the ACDelco Chevrolet one of the Pro Stock Cars to watch on Sunday.
"We're pretty pleased to go three 6.62s in a row," Johnson said. "That's how we won the Full Throttle championship last year was with consistency. If you're going to win these races you have to be consistent and I think we have a pretty good package here."
THE WAITING WAS THE HARDEST PART – Rookie Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Doug Horne set the high water mark in the first round of 
qualifying and then just held on as the track, at least for the bike riders, just didn't offer anything better, which suited Horne just fine.
“It means a lot,” Horne stated, when asked what his first career pole meant to him. “If you look at Spencer, Shawn and Matt … they’ve all had final rounds and one has been a No. 1 qualifier. To get that No. 1 qualifier helps out for rookie of the year. It also gives me a lot of confidence headed into Sunday just by being in that position.”
For Horne, the next step is putting a mark in the win column after two losses this year in the final round.
“After reaching the finals in Houston and in Atlanta, being the last man standing would mean everything to me. Once you get a little taste [of the final round] you gain a hunger and an appetite to be the last man standing.”
Horne admits that being number one is more than just about feeling good when you go to sleep Saturday night. It helps on Sunday, also.
“You’re always going to get those nervous jitters before the round,” Horne said. “I think it doesn’t make you as nervous as it gives you confidence.”
At 19, Horne is filled with confidence and talent. The question is, will it be enough to keep him in the running for wins and for a chance at the rookie of the year title.
“Since I don’t have as many races, I have to make the best of what I have,” Horne said of the rookie competition which also includes Horne, Matt Hagan, Spencer Massey and Shawn Langdon. “It would be nice to have 24 races to show what we’ve got. We just do the best we can with our 17 races.”
THE PERFECT GRADUATION GIFT – Eighteen year old Katie Sullivan had admittedly enjoyed a whirlwind week leading up to her Pro Stock Motorcycle debut during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, Ill.
Thursday was her high school graduation night back home in Corning, Ca. Saturday she furthered her education by landing in the 14th spot aboard her Suzuki in her national event debut.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” Sullivan told ESPN2 of her week. “Between doing stuff to get ready for graduation, I was doing stuff to get ready to go racing. This is my home and this is where I want to be so I made it happen.”
THAT’S SHOCKING – Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Bailey Whittaker had a shocking moment last weekend while in St. Louis, literally.
Whittaker, of Miami, Fla., was struck by lightning and lived to tell about it.
“I thought it was a spider bite,” Whittaker proclaimed on ESPN2. “It ended up being lightning and my fillings came out … and it ended up coming out my finger.”
HARLEYS, PLUS TEN – The Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Pro Stockers competed in their first race since the NHRA mandated a ten pound addition to their competition bringing their minimum weight to 640 pounds.
The combination, which has led the last few NHRA Full Throttle qualifying lists, was fifth with Andrew Hines and ninth with Eddie Krawiec.
Steve Johnson has been one of the more outspoken figures on Pro Stock Motorcycle parity. Johnson told ESPN on Saturday that while he’s sympathetic to the NHRA’s plight of parity, it’s still frustrating for him.
“NHRA has the toughest job in the world and it’s frustrating for me … Byron has built my engines for a long time,” Johnson said. “Even though Byron’s on the other team, he’s got a lot of parity. To get penalized for building a fast motorcycle is frustrating. It’s frustrating for us too. It’s one of those things where there’s no perfect answer. At the end of the day, the fans are going to see a great race. That’s what’s important.
“Whether or not they are close at the finish line, that’s the NHRA’s job. I gotta sit back and wonder what is going on. If I need to switch to a Buell, then I need to switch to a Buell.”
Buell’s comprised the first two spots in the field followed by a pair of Suzukis.
ALLSTARS EXTENSION - JEGS Automotive, Inc., has extended its agreement with the NHRA as
title sponsor of the NHRA JEGS Allstars event, it was announced today.
The extension will keep the JEGS name on the race-within-a-race bonus
program for the best of the best NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
competitors through 2013 and will also include the addition of the Top
Sportsman and Top Dragster classes beginning in 2010.
“We’re very excited to extend our relationship with JEGS Automotive
through the year 2013,” said Gary Darcy, senior vice president, sales
and marketing, NHRA. “JEGS has always had a strong commitment to NHRA
and sportsman racing. Thanks to John, Troy, Mike & Jeg Jr , the
prestige of the JEGS Allstars event has increased year-in and year-out
and continues to be one of the most anticipated events during the
season where individual and team bragging rights are at stake.”
The JEGS Allstars event pits the top points earners from NHRA’s seven
geographic divisions against each other in the culmination of a
year-long points battle. Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors in
Top Alcohol Dragster (TAD), Top Alcohol Funny Car (TAFC), Comp
Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas and
Super Street, along with competitors in Top Sportsman and Top Dragster,
vie for team and individual honors and a share of the $119,000 purse.
For the first time ever, the highly competitive Top Sportsman and Top
Dragster classes will be added to event in 2010. These two classes,
which have grown immensely within just a few years, will bring an added
feel of excitement to an already impressive annual event.
Next year will mark the 26th anniversary of the JEGS Allstars event,
which is contested at the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals at
Route 66 Raceway near Chicago. The event is televised on ESPN2 as
part of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series show. The winning team
splits $20,000 and the winners in the Top Alcohol Dragster and Top
Alcohol Funny Car categories earn $7,000 each, while the winners in
Competition Eliminator and Super Stock earn $6,000 each. Top Sportsman
and Top Dragster earn $5,000 and Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super
Street winners earn $4,500. Runners-up in all categories get $2,000.
“We're excited to be a part of the ever growing all-star event and also
the addition of Top Sportsman and Top Dragster, two of the fastest
growing classes in NHRA,” said John Coughlin. “It’s fun to be a part
of an event that we are personally close to virtually all the racers.
The best of the best to see who is the baddest. The Allstars race, JEGS
SPORTSnationals and our contingency program is our way of saying thanks
to all the racers who have helped support JEGS for almost 50 years.
This is our way of giving back.”
Former Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin has been an Allstars
representative six times, winning the Super Gas class twice. Other
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series professional drivers who have
competed in the JEGS Allstars event include Cory McClenathan, Morgan
Lucas, Rod Fuller and Greg Stanfield. JEGS Automotive, Inc., with world
headquarters in Delaware, Ohio, is a leading supplier of automotive and
auto racing parts and equipment.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -
TOP FUEL
SCHUMACHER'S TRACK – NOT ACCORDING TO BROWN - “He might live here, but this isn't his track, “ Brown proclaimed following his 
3.826 second, 317.94 mph run which was an impressive two hundredths faster than Tony Schumacher posted and three hundredths faster that third fastest qualifier Larry Dixon.
“It was incredible,” Brown said of the pass. “I went out there and I did a little boo; I let go of the brake and let the car rolled in and lit both bulbs if you saw that pass. Luckily, I still had the car staged shallow.”
The goal now is survive the next two rounds of qualifying on Saturday and then lay claim to the trophy come Sunday. Standing in his way, Schumacher, Dixon, Lucas, Langdon and a host of other drivers.
“Right now qualifying gets you extra points. It shows you what you're capable of, but that's when it counts – on race day.”
A FULLER RETURN – Rod Fuller returned to action with sponsorship from the local Caterpillar dealer and promptly posted the seventh fastest run of the afternoon. Fuller's 3.889 was quite respectable given the time he and the team have been sitting on the sidelines.
OKAY, OKAY, I AM 80 – Chris Karamesines fessed up. He was born in 1928, which makes him 80 about to turn 81. Almost as if he was celebrating early, Karamesines lit the candles on his only qualifying attempt. The resulting fire caused enough damage to keep Karamesines from making a second round pass and may have put him out for the weekend.
SO NOTHING WENT RIGHT – Brandon Bernstein and Cory McClenathan shared a, shall we say, miserable afternoon at Route 66 Raceway. McClenathan posted the 17th quickest pass, while Bernstein, not to be outdone, claimed the 18th spot.
Both will be under tremendous pressure to claim one of the remaining four spots in the 16-car field.
LOVE IS IN THE AIR - Michael Wiley and Jenna Jackson of Aurora,
Ill., had a memorable Friday at Route 66 Raceway as the couple got
engaged while Jackson was seated in the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil
dragster usually occupied by Morgan Lucas. Wiley had contacted PR
expert Lachelle Seymour of Route 66 Raceway prior to the event hoping
to ask for Jackson's hand in the GEICO pit as they are big
fans of Lucas. The team took the idea and ran with it, turning a casual pit tour into a moment the couple will never forget.
"My mom thought it would be neat to have Jenna get in the car so Mike
could pop the question while she was sitting in the driver's seat,"
Lucas said. "Then we came up with the idea of tying the engagement ring
to the steering wheel so I could lock it into place in front of her
once she got in there. Everything worked out perfectly and the best
news is she said 'Yes!'"
Adding to the excitement, ESPN2 cameras captured the entire event for
broadcast during this weekend's race. Ace cameraman Matt Islas
pretended to be getting some stock footage of the Lucas pit but he had
secretly put a microphone under Wiley's shirt so viewers will be able
to hear that magical moment as it happened. Once the crowd at the ropes
figured out what had happened, the newly
engaged couple got a raucous ovation and lots of well wishes.
"This is above and beyond anything I could have imagined," Wiley said.
"The GEICO and Lucas race teams have been awesome and I can't thank
Morgan enough for helping me out. We're so happy right now."
FUNNY CAR
IT WAS TIME TO OPEN THE CAN OF WHOOP A$$ - Tony Pedregon thought the conditions were nearly perfect for everyone to go down 
the track in a strong fashion. When it didn't happen, Pedregon decided it was time to get a little payback.
For his Advance Auto Parts Impala, conditions were good enough to post the fasted lap among the 18 making qualifying attempts with a 4.089, 304.39 second round pass. Mike Neff was hot on Pedregon's heels with his 4.110, 305.08 run. Pedregon claimed fastest time and Neff the faster speed.
“Very good conditions,” Pedregon proudly said inside the media center. “I was surprised more cars didn't adapt better in that first round. We're coming off a couple of really good butt-kickings the last couple of races. It woke us up and reminded us that we can't be conservative.”
Pedregon was anything but conservative and plans to be continue to be aggressive throughout the remainder of the season.
“There is nothing like winning and this same stage last year we had won a couple of races. We're just competitive and I think for those reasons (we're getting more aggressive). We're just going to be more aggressive here on race day and everything we've done in qualifying is setting the stage for Sunday.
“We're just tired of getting our butt's beat.
IT WAS A STRONG DAY FOR THE BLUE OVAL – Pedregon's Chevrolet is on the pole, but 50 percent of the top twelve were Fords. All six of the Fords in Funny Car qualified with Mike Neff leading the way. John Force was the second fastest, third overall, followed by Bob Tasca III and Ashley Force Hood. Tim Wilkerson was seventh and Robert Hight, 10th.
Watching from the sidelines, one of the greatest names in all of Ford Racing – the Wood Brothers [pictured, right]. Second generation brothers Len and Eddie Wood attended the second round of qualify, along with their wives. The Woods were treated to the “tree experience” prompting one of the to say, “Now that was awesome” after watching Tasca make his nighttime run.
Illinois Department of Transportation Director Michael Stout took a tour of the John Force Racing pit area after he spent a few minutes talking with Castrol GTX Ford Mustang driver Ashley Force Hood today at the 12th annual United Association NHRA Rt. 66 Nationals.
PRO STOCK
BROKEN RECORD - Mike Edwards sounds like a broken record with
the way he talks about qualifying No. 1 on Friday and expecting his 
run
not to hold through Saturday’s final sessions.
What the soft-spoken Pro Stock racer from Coweta, Ok., doesn’t share is
the fact that he’s usually the one who beats his Friday run. His 6.587
elapsed time at 209.88 miles per hour during the first two qualifying
runs at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, if it holds, will
represent his sixth No. 1 of the season in the first eleven races of
the season.
“I think it’s premature for me to be up here tonight because the
conditions for tomorrow look like Pro Stock is going to run really fast
tomorrow,” Edwards said during Friday evening’s press conference. “We
made a really good run tonight and hats off to my guys for making it
happen. I was shocked that it ran that fast, I really was.”
“Tomorrow is a new day and conditions are going to change all around,”
Edwards said. “Our .58 might be seventh or eighth tomorrow, you never
know. We’ll come out tomorrow and race the track and see what we can
do.”
Edwards expected at least a 6.59 or a 6.60 in conditions that were
nearly identical atmospherically. The track was the largest variable
and according to Edwards, it improved considerably for the second
session.
Making the adjustment came natural for Edwards. Over the off-season
Edwards and Mike Edwards Motorsports team brainstormed the tracks that
presented the most problems and how they could adjust to those
complexities.
“We went to work on how to race the race track every run,” Edwards
explained. “No matter what the conditions were … we wanted to go up
there and make the best run we can. I think we’ve gotten better in
those areas and our engine program has come around. It’s a combination
of a lot of hard work and right decisions.”
Those right decisions made Edwards the subject of some intense NHRA technical scrutiny.
“They tore me apart pretty good,” Edwards confirmed. “They’ve checked
me a lot this year and they are welcome to come over and check me any
time they would like. That makes me feel better and I believe it makes
everyone else feel better too.”
That’s a far cry from the man who was so disgusted with his racing
program that he was prepared to walk away from a career that had
included national event victories and a sportsman world championship.
“I have to thank my partner Roger Stuff for not allowing me to do what
I wanted to do,” Edwards admitted. “It’s pretty fun right now and I
have never enjoyed this kind of success before.”
Edwards’ last national event victory at Route 66 Raceway was in 2001.
THAT'S NEWS TO HIM - Johnny Gray has been the subject of rumors concerning his plans after
2009. Scuttlebutt suggests the former nitro racer turned Pro 
Stock competitor is headed to a Ford for 2010.
The interesting thing about the potential scenario is that Gray said he knows nothing about it.
“I haven’t really given it a lot of thought,” Gray admitted. “We’re
struggling right now and I’m not real happy with my program right now.
I can’t honestly say that I haven't given any thought to changes in my
program at this time.”
Since coming into the Pro Stock division in 2007, Gray has driven
Mopars, first with leased engines from Larry Morgan and in 2009 with
factory-backed Allen Johnson. Morgan has since announced he will go to
Ford in 2010. Johnson is expected to remain with Mopar through this
year despite the manufacturer’s decision to file for bankruptcy.
Which takes us back to Gray and his struggling team.
“I’m not aggravated at anybody, just at the situation,” Gray said,
further explaining his feelings. “My car is just not performing as it
should. Everyone is trying. I don’t know why.”
Gray said that he recently borrowed a Dodge Stratus from Kenny Koretsky
in an attempt to see if the car itself was the problem. He tested
extensively and believed that he had discovered what the problem was.
Shaking the tires in his first qualifying run at the NHRA Route 66
Nationals didn’t improve his confidence level in the combination.
“I’ve even gone as far as to ask if the problem was me,” Gray admitted.
Allen Johnson also drove the car during testing and the unspecified
problem remained. Gray remains committed, for now, to diagnosing the
problem and getting his program back on track.
As for the future, all bets are off for now.
“I honestly can’t tell you what I am going to do in the future,” Gray
said, admitting if loyalty is the prime factor he's already made up his
mind.
“I’m loyal to performance,” Gray emphasized.
MAKING HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES, EVEN IN THE BIG CITY - Kurt Johnson's strong qualifying start at the 12th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals has the ACDelco Chevrolet driver slotted in the No. 5 position after he posted the fourth-quickest elapsed time of the second Pro Stock session with a run of 6.625 seconds at 208.62 mph.
"This race track is so good right now," Johnson said. "The motor was pulling, it was charging, it didn’t really bog, but you could really feel it – it was solid. We went back to some old parts on this ACDelco Cobalt and it really showed off right there.
"It was a step in the right direction. We've been fighting this hot race track issue for awhile, and we finally had to back up and change some parts to get our program moving ahead. We knew what we wanted to do, but we it was a matter of changing some components and getting this car to run a little bit better. It's all about learning out there and that run tonight was huge."
THE COMPETITION IS GETTING TOUGHER AND TOUGHER – Outside the top twelve after two rounds of Pro Stock qualifying are drivers V Gaines, 14th, Larry Morgan,, 16th, Ron Krisher, 20th, and Warren Johnson, 21st. In all, 25 cars took to the racetrack. If you toss out the seven second runs by Dave River and Mark Hogan, the remaining 23 cars are separated by .205 seconds, 6.11 mph. Warren Johnson was the fastest of the non-qualifiers with a speed of 208.23.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
MAKING WAVES - Doug Horne, rookie standout driving the Junior Pippin Drag Star Buell, fired a shot across the bow of the competition 
during Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying at the NRHA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.
Horne, out of Aberdeen, Md., blasted to the top of the field with a blazing 6.936, 191.84 mph run in the very first qualifying session which proved untouchable in the second session.
“It was really good to come right off of the trailer and lay down that kind of a number,” Horne said. “We’ve done some testing during the four weeks we’ve had off and it seems the testing has paid off. The tune-up was great and we changed a bit in the clutch combination. Having that kind of run gives us all the confidence in the world.”
The second session in Chicago presented a weird set of circumstances for the rider out of Junior Pippin’s stable. The weather conditions at Route 66 Raceway were nearly identical to the opening session and the racing surface improved yet nearly all of the bikes slowed down, including Horne, who fell off nearly a tenth.
“It was weird because the weather was the same as the first run and everyone slowed down .10 to .15,” Horne explained. “Ricky Manning told us that before the second run and said that is just how Chicago is.”
Chicago traditions aside, the former award-winning All Harley Drag Racing Association rider and past world champion is not satisfied with an impressive start and wants even more.
“I wish I could put some bigger numbers on the board for Junior Pippin and Drag Star, who is helping us this weekend,” Horne said.
It is amazing when one thinks how a young 19-year old rider who entered the season just hoping to get a chance to compete, is quickly establishing himself as a contender.
“I am surprised with the way the season is going because I just wanted to come in and get my feet wet and get situated with the whole organization,” Horne explained. “My sister jokes with me all the time and says, ‘I knew it.'”
The sister isn't the only who knows it, now. Doug Horne is for real and the competition better not take him lightly.
YOU HAVE TO REACH OUT - Social Media outlets have become very important to a good number of drag racing teams over the past six months. What started on Myspace has expanded to include private web sites, company websites, sanctioning body websites and most recently Facebook and Twitter.
Karen Stoffer is no exception to the rule. Fans can reach out to her at www.karenstoffer.com , Karen Stoffer on Facebook, twitter.com/KarenStofferPR , a driver blog on www.nhra.com and finally fans can learn all they want to know about Karen and GEICO Powersports at www.geicogarage.com .
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - OF SLUMPS, CHANGED PLANS AND NITRO RETURNS
IN SLUMP, HIGHT ENCOURAGED - The second half of the NHRA Full Throttle regular season starts this weekend at the 12th annual United Association NHRA Rt. 66 
Nationals
in Joliet. Early season championship favorite Robert Hight is looking
to forget about the first half of the season and concentrate on the
second half.
Never before has Hight started a season with less success than 2009 but
instead of getting down, the 2005 NHRA Rookie of the Year and two-time
championship runner-up is focusing on battling through the tough times
so success will taste that much sweeter.
“We are a team that is used to winning. We aren’t doing that now
obviously. We have sponsors like Auto Club, Ford, Castrol, Mac Tools,
and Brand Source that pay us to go rounds and we didn’t get the job
done in the first half of the season. Trust me I want to win. (Crew
chief) Jimmy Prock wants to win. We are going to really focus on the
second half of the NHRA season before the Countdown. I think if we can
average semi-final finishes the rest of the way we can get into the Top
5 in points,” said Hight.
“Based on our performance so far that may sound like we are looking for
a miracle but we are making progress. Our team is working together and
it is not just my Auto Club team it is the whole John Force Racing
organization. John has won 14 championships and I was on a lot of those
teams. We know what it takes to win and we are going to start getting
the job done,” added Hight.
This season started out with a promising start for Hight racing to the
No.1 qualifying spot at Pomona before dropping a semi-final race to Ron
Capps. Hight made it back to the semi-finals in Las Vegas before again
being stopped by points leader Ron Capps. On both occasions Hight felt
like he had a legitimate shot at getting into the winner’s circle. It
is not a stretch to say that had Hight captured one or two of those
wins the current championship chase picture would look dramatically
different for the eleven time NHRA event winner.
With only five round wins in 2009 Hight is well off his usual pace in
the quest to win his first championship. Turning his program around is
not an impossibility. Heading into Chicago in 2008 Hight had already
won twelve rounds of racing, been to two finals and was in 5th place in
Full Throttle points with 506 points. After Chicago last season Hight
reached three finals picking up two wins and entered the Countdown in
3rd place.
NO CREW CHIEF CHANGE SAYS FORCE - Dale Earnhardt Jr. getting a new crew chief was the biggest story in motorsports last week, but John Force said on Wednesday night’s debut of The Race Reporters radio show on www.PowerUpChannel.com that he won’t be making a similar move despite not winning an NHRA Funny Car race in more than a year.
“No, I wouldn’t even consider it,” the 14-time champion said. “Number one, if I tried it, (crew chief) Austin Coil would just write a book about me and he’d make a lot of money. Coil and I have been together for more than 25 years. We struggled the first years and then we went on to win championships. But, yes, we are struggling right now.”
Force continued: “I will not (make a) change. I’ve seen that happen and the crew chief you let go comes back and beats you.”
He applied the same comment to speculation he'd make a change on the AAA Ford team.
Listen to the show at: http://va.radiopilot.net/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=38880
OLD MAGIC WOULD BE NICE - Although John Force has been driving like a champ this year, his results could have as easily been achieved by a chump.
With just seven races remaining before the field is pared to 10 drivers
for the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship, Force and his Castrol GTX
High Mileage Ford Mustang have no number one starts, no final rounds,
no wins, a losing record and they occupy only ninth place in the Full
Throttle Funny Car standings.
Needless to say, those are very un-Force-like statistics, ones the
60-year-old icon hopes to amend this weekend when he brings his Mustang
back the site of some of his biggest racing moments to compete in the
12th annual United Association Route 66 Nationals.
Although Force is third among Funny Car drivers in best average
reaction time, his race car has struggled to achieve the consistency
that once made him virtually unbeatable.
"I'm trying to give the car all the help I can give it," Force said of
his reaction time starts. "We've struggled so much with these new
chassis. I'm not complaining. It's where we went with the technology,
with Ford, after Eric's accident and mine. We know it's going to work,
but it can be really frustrating right now.
Indeed, this is the longest Force has gone in his career without
reaching the finals (24 straight races) or starting from the top of the
qualifying order (61 consecutive events dating back to the 2006 Mac
Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, Ind.). Nevertheless, no one has
suggested that the fault lies with the driver.
In fact, most believe that because of the training regimen upon which
he embarked after his crash in September, 2007, Force now is in better
physical condition than he was during his run to a record 10 straight
championships (1993-2002).
"I'm in the gym every night," Force said. "When I don't go, I can tell
the difference. I didn't want to just make a comeback, I wanted to be
competitive, but the car isn't there, yet. (Crew chiefs Austin) Coil
and Bernie (Fedderly) are learning what to do, but it's been slow. I'm
guilty of not being patient, especially when we've got one car
(daughter Ashley Force Hood's Castrol GTX Mustang) that runs like Jack
the Bear.
"Mine does the same thing," Force said. "It hauls ass and the next run
it won't. Why? I don't why. That's what we're trying to find out."
Last week's race in Topeka, Kan., provided the perfect illustration of
Force's dilemma. After qualifying No. 2 and posting the quickest time
of the race in round one, his Ford slowed by a tenth of a second in a
round two loss to points leader Ron Capps.
"You push it too hard, it (overpowers the track and) smokes the tires,"
Force said. "Then, if you pull it back, it's weak and it still smokes
the tires. It's just a combination of things. We just have to
continue testing to find our way back.
"We've had seasons where we were off two or three months, even six
months," said the 14-time Auto Racing All-America selection, "but not
this far off and not this many cars (a reference to the Mustangs of
Robert Hight and Mike Neff, which also have struggled). We're better
than we were last year, but we're not where we need to be. We don't
need to go rounds; we need to win a race."
CHANGE OF PLANS - Originally, Ron Capps, the 2009 NHRA Funny Car points leader and
four-time national-event winner this season, was planning to make 
a
detour to run in tonight's Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway in
Rossburg, Ohio. Instead, persistent rain has postponed that event to
Sept. 9., and Capps is turning around and heading directly to Joliet,
Ill., for this weekend's NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
"It's unfortunate, but the bright side, and this happened a few years
ago when it was rained out, is that the rain-out date is going to be
Wednesday night, Sept. 9," said Capps. "And it happens to be right
after the biggest race on our NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
schedule, the U.S. Nationals, which we run on Monday, Labor Day, in
Indianapolis. So, I'll be able to stay in town again and cruise over
and run the Prelude. It will be held prior to what they call ‘The
World,’ which is one of the biggest Late Model races they have. It's
going to be just as big an event and we expect the weather will be good
at that time."
Capps will arrive in Joliet, west of Chicago, holding a 119-point
margin over second-place Del Worsham, following his win last Sunday at
Heartland Park Topeka (Kan.). He's the 2005 Funny Car titlist at Route
66 Raceway and the 2007 runner-up at one of his favorite tracks on the
circuit.
SPECIAL GUESTS - Bob Tasca III, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang, will
host Eddie and Len Wood, co-owners of Wood Brothers Racing, a prominent
NASCAR team. This will mark the first time they have attended an NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
“It’s always exciting to see the reaction and the impression we make on
first-time fans,” Tasca said. “Obviously with the Wood Brothers coming
to the race, I look forward to it even more because they’re racers,
they have been immersed in NASCAR culture for years. For them to see
what we do and how we do it, I think they are going to be very
impressed and blown away by the performance of these cars and what
we’re able to do in a short period of time. I find it fun just to be a
part of someone’s first time at a drag race.
“At every race this year, I’ve had people in the pits for their very
first drag race. We had the astronauts out for the first time in
Houston, and Kenny Schrader was at a race, too. For me, I’ve never
been to a NASCAR race and I’m looking forward to doing it. I’m looking
forward to having the Wood Brothers out and give them a taste of what
our sport is all about.”
HAGAN'S COLORS - In support of FRAM and his Don Schumacher teammate Cory McClenathan, NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Rookie-of-the-Year 
contender
Matt Hagan will trade the shelor.com Funny Car body for a FRAM Tough
Guard design on the Dodge Charger he will drive in this weekend's NHRA
Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.
The Top Fuel dragster that McClenathan races for Don Schumacher Racing
will wear a different, unique design for this weekend's event at Route
66 Raceway, outside of Chicago, the details of which will be announced
later this week.
"We've been planning for some time to help provide FRAM some additional
excitement to their branding," said team owner Don Schumacher. "So,
we've come up with a special design for the Funny Car Matt Hagan drives
for DSR to help promote the FRAM Tough Guard brand and as a way to say
thanks to FRAM for their support."
“We’re thrilled to have Matt Hagan representing the FRAM brand in
Chicago,” said Kelley O’Donnell, Director of Global Coolants and CPG
Motorsports for Honeywell Consumer Products. “He is a terrific young
driver and has a long successful career ahead of him."
GETTING READY - Slightly different from the old “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” slogan,
seven-time NHRA Top Fuel winner Hot Rod Fuller spent last 
weekend
at Patten Cat’s annual ‘Red Tag’ sales event at the dealership’s
headquarters in Elmhurst, IL. Fuller had his new Vandergriff
Motorsports Top Fuel dragster on display, and spent two days greeting
Patten Cat customers as they came to the dealership to look at and buy
equipment.
The reward for Fuller assisting in a weekend of equipment sales is
getting to climb back in the cockpit of a Top Fuel dragster and make
his 2009 debut at this weekend’s NHRA National event, June 5-7, at
Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL.
“That was a fun event,” Fuller said. “Helping Cat dealers sell
equipment is something that I find very rewarding and it quantifies how
the racing program pays off for dealers that sponsor us at races. This
is a great opportunity to not only showcase the sport of NHRA drag
racing to Patten Cat and their customers, but I really feel we have a
chance to win this race. I’ve had some success at Route 66
(Raceway) in the past and partnering with Bob (Vandergriff) is the
start of something great I believe.” Many of Patten’s customers had a
chance to come by the dealership to meet Fuller in an environment where
7,000 horsepower cars weren’t doing burnouts or speeding along at 300
mph. It provided an atmosphere for fans to walk right up to Fuller and
have one-on-one conversations without racing
distractions.
“Having Hot Rod Fuller and his Vandergriff Motorsports Top Fuel
dragster at our ‘Red Tag’ event was a tremendous success,” Chief
Marketing Officer for Patten Industries, Inc., Bill Dears said. “Not
only was it great for our customers to meet Rod in person, but we
literally had additional contractors come look at equipment, and bring
extra people with them because they heard he was going to be here. We
obviously benefited from this by showing them Cat equipment while they
were on the lot.”
Fuller, a Chicago native, has been a regular atop the NHRA Top Fuel
points standings since 2005. The University of Arkansas graduate has
seven career wins in 18 final round appearances. Fuller, who has seven
career No. 1 qualifying awards, is a three-time finalist at Route 66
Raceway, including the last two years. He also posted the quickest run
of his career, 4.464-seconds, at the Joliet track in 2007.
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