Keep up with this weekend's Pro Stock action in Indianapolis by reading our behind-the-scenes event notebook. Tune in daily for the latest news from the pits. Bobby Bennett will bring you the stories behind the numbers.

 

		EVENT NEWS & RESULTS TOP FUEL FUNNY CAR PRO STOCK CAR PRO STOCK BIKE PRO MODIFIED SPORTSMAN			WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY

 

 

MONDAY NOTEBOOK -

COUGHLIN’S EXCLAMATION POINT - Jeg Coughlin Jr. put an exclamation point on his regular season No. 1 ranking by winning Pro Stock at the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon. The victory over Greg Stanfield marked the seventh victory of the season for the defending world champion.

Coughlin didn’t play the favorite out of the gate over the course of the weekend, qualifying 12th in the 16-car field. His list of defeated opponents included Greg Anderson, Rodger Brogdon and Mike Edwards leading up to the race with Stanfield.

The Indy triumph marked his 77th career final round of his career.

The final round was the toughest for Coughlin as he needed every bit of a 6.689 elapsed time at 206.48 mph to beat out Stanfield's 6.691 at 206.37 mph.

"We had Lady Luck on our side today, no doubt about it," Coughlin said. "We started with a huge match-up against Greg Anderson and it seemed like the weight of the world was on us there. He beat me off the line but we had the power to track him down and take the win. That sort of set the day in motion.”

If Coughlin gained a lucky break throughout the day, it came in the second round when Brogdon fouled and Coughlin blew the tires off, crossing the finish line with a silent engine.

"Against Rodger in the second round we went into severe tire shake and couldn't make it down the track but when I looked up I saw the win light on in our lane and I realized he had fouled out at the starting line. That was another huge break.

Then came his semi-final run against Edwards.

"Me and Mike have had some battles this year and we all know how good that car can be. I got up on the wheel to race him and felt like I hit the tree real well but I still sensed that he had left first. Once again, I looked up and saw that he had fouled out, so we got another round win right there.”

In the final round, Coughlin needed every ounce of horsepower his Jegs Chevrolet Cobalt motor could generate.

"Greg (Stanfield) and me were welded together all the way down the track. He beat me by a thousandth of a second off the line and I beat him by two-thousandths at the other end so we won by the slenderest of margins. I'll tell you right now, I've got nothing left in my emotional tank. I'm completely drained."

Coughlin scored another milestone for the Victor Cagnazzi Racing team by securing the No. 1 ranking heading into the NHRA's Countdown to 1. The feat is worth 20 bonus points after the standings are reset for the Countdown to 1.

"Winning Indy is a dream for drag racers," Coughlin said. "Keeping that No. 1 ranking was a big goal and it's great to get it done because we worked darn hard for it. Now we start over, for all intents, and we need to reset and get set for the playoffs. It's going to be a thrill."

 

NOT THE BEST OF DAYS - After qualifying second at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, IN, Summit Racing Pro Stock pilot Jason Line entered Monday’s final eliminations determined to reverse his string of untimely exits at drag racing’s biggest race. Things went as planned in the first round, as Line combined a starting line advantage and a quick 6 .659-second, 206.80 mph pass to eliminate Justin Humphreys. It was a similar story in the second round, as Line once again was first off the line, with his 6.671-second, 205.94 mph effort more than enough to defeat veteran Johnny Gray, sending the 2006 champion to the semifinals for the 13th time this season, and first at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

The final obstacle between Line and his ninth final round appearance of the season was noted starting line specialist Greg Stanfield. Although Line put together a solid performance, combining a .035 reaction time and a 6.659-second, 206.48 mph run, it fell nine thousandths of a second shy of overcoming his opponent’s starting line edge, gained through a nearly perfect .013 light.

“Although this was my best showing at Indy, I’m far from satisfied,” said Line. “Our Summit Racing Pontiac was consistent and made decent runs throughout the weekend, although it wasn’t necessarily as fast as we would have liked it to be. I also could have done a better job of driving. The bottom line is that we came up nine thousandths short in the semis.

“The easiest way to sum up this year’s U.S. Nationals is that I’ve had better days, but certainly had worse ones, especially here. The good news is that with the Countdown to One starting at the next race in Charlotte, we gained 40 points on the leader and are now just 30 points out. We’re running well, but know we can do better, which is what we’ll be working on between now and Charlotte next week. Best of all, everyone on this KB Racing crew is committed to getting the job done.”

THIS ROUND TO JEGS - Facing rival Jeg Coughlin in the opening stanza, Greg Anderson knew an error-free performance would be necessary in order to continue his nine-year streak of advancing to at least the quarterfinals at the Labor Day classic. He did his job at the starting line, using a solid .029 reaction time to gain the advantage, which in most cases would almost guarantee the three-time champion the win. Unfortunately, his mount slowed to a 6.688-second time with a top speed of 206.89 mph, allowing his opponent to gain the narrow victory.

Although disappointed by his premature exit, Anderson turned his attention towards fixing his race car prior to the start of the NHRA’s championship playoff, the Countdown to One, which starts in Charlotte, NC ten days from now.

“We could have had a really good race today, but for some reason my car just did not perform,” said Anderson. “We started off with a bang, but just seemed to be going backwards after that. We don’t know what the culprit is, so what’s important now is that we find whatever is wrong and fix it.

 

 

 

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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -

 

 

ARMED AND READY – How ready does Mike Edwards want to be when Monday’s NHRA U.S. Nationals final eliminations roll around? The ten-time pole-earning driver in 2009 dispatched a crew from his Charlotte, N.C.-based shop to bring him the same engine he used to win the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle last July.

Edwards wounded an engine during Friday’s lone qualifying session en route to a 6.581 elapsed time at 209.01. The strength of the pass kept him atop the field long enough to procure his tenth pole position of the season and first-ever in Indianapolis.

The engine swap was the furthest thing on his mind Sunday afternoon.

“I think I might have to pinch myself in qualifying No. 1,” said Edwards. “This is real special and ranks high up there on the list of things I’ve done.”

Edwards has won Pro Stock once at the U.S. Nationals, securing the 1998 crown in honor of fallen team owner John Kite and was a runner-up for the 1981 Modified title.

Sunday marked his first No. 1 and on Monday he’d like to add his first clean sweep to the resume. That’s why he sent for the extra bullet. Because of the competitive nature of this class, Edwards knows he might not get a second chance at a clean sweep.

“We’ve got everything in place to give it all we’ve got,” Edwards explained. “I just really appreciate my guys for putting me in this position. I give God the glory for this opportunity.”

Edwards could have raced with the inventory he’s got in the hauler now, but with this much on the line, he’s not in a gambling mood.

“You never know what is going to happen,” Edwards cautioned. “We have several engines and we always like to keep one back at the shop for the dyno. We have to have a good one back home to run new parts and try and find a way to keep an edge on the competition.”

The engine demands go beyond Edwards’ own personal needs. He’s also the engine supplier for Ron Krisher, the seventh qualifier for Monday’s final eliminations. There’s a good chance the engine delivered last evening could end up in Krisher’s car.

“We sent for the new engine not because we were concerned about performance because all of our engines are good in the trailer, it’s just about ensuring that we are covered,” Edward said. “You have to make sure you have enough bullets to keep your guns-a-blazing.”

 

NO SOPHOMORE JINX – Steve Spiess has found a comfort zone in his second season of 500-inch Pro Stock racing. The former IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock champion from Manhattan, Ill., entered this weekend’s event as the 15th ranked point earner.

“We have become comfortable but we have a long way to go,” Spiess said. “We’ve been running Pro Stock for years but we’re gaining on it. The experience in racing the IHRA helped a lot. I’m looking forward to running next year.”

Spiess enters race day as the eleventh quickest with a 6.649 elapsed time at 206.10 miles per hour. He will race Greg Stanfield in the first round.

HE’S IN – Rickie Jones believed that if he just maintained his spot in the Countdown to One after this weekend, that might be as gratifying of an accomplishment as winning the title would be.

Jones entered the weekend as the ninth ranked entry and following Sunday’s qualifying the tenth ranked Warren Johnson missed the cut as did the eighth-ranked Kurt Johnson.

“This is awesome and all we really wanted to do was come out here and try to hang on to our Countdown spot,” said Jones, who held 27 points over Warren Johnson. “I love Indy and this is my second year in racing here. I’m just excited to race on Monday.”

He races No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards in the first round.

FAMILIAR SITUATION - Pro Stock point leader and defending world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. enters eliminations in a familiar position after rain once again shortened the qualifying rounds at an NHRA national event.

"We've lost so many rounds to rain this year," the 60-time national event winner said. "They told me that 13 of the first 17 races have been affected by rain and that seems about right. Just in recent memory, in the last three or four events, we've lost qualifying rounds to rain, so I guess you could say we're used to it by now."

With four of five rounds completed, Coughlin is 12th overall with a 6.650 at 208.04 mph in his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt.

"We were hopeful we would get two shots at the track today and we got one,’ Coughlin said. 

Entering this event with a 65-point lead in the Full Throttle points, Coughlin will need to win two rounds to secure the top ranking heading into the playoffs, which is worth 20 bonus points. Depending on what his rivals do he could lock up the top slot as early as Round 1.

GRAY, MORGAN MAKE IT IN – Johnny Gray leapfrogged his way into an almost certain Countdown to One berth.

Only nine points separated Gray from tenth-ranked Warren Johnson heading into Indy. Gray landed in the tenth spot in the 16-car field and will race Ron Krisher Monday.

Larry Morgan, the twelfth ranked driver headed into event, was 138 points out of the top ten.

JOHNSON FAMILY SHUTOUT – Neither Warren Johnson, nor his son Kurt will race on Sunday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Warren’s DNQ eliminated him from championship contention. Kurt had clinched a berth prior to the event.

"We finally got the car hooked up, and made a smooth run, but we just weren't aggressive enough," Kurt Johnson said. "You test, and run good and you come in here pumped up about racing at Indy and this happens. It's disappointing but I still feel good about the car because we have the right components to be competitive. We won’t make the mistake again of being too conservative."

Johnson's best elapsed time of the weekend of 6.675 seconds was not quick enough to crack into the top-12 after Saturday's final session and he entered today's final day of time trials without an e.t. of record. With two potential rounds still on the table, the ACDelco driver was confident that he would make the 16-car field, but rain rolled into the area on Sunday morning and one qualifying session was scratched. Johnson's run during Sunday's lone round was only good enough for the No. 17 position.

"It's pretty bad when you think you're going to miss an opportunity to qualify because it's raining," Johnson said. "It's even worse when you finally get a chance and then you don't qualify."

 

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - 

GOOD WHEN IT’S BAD - If Mike Edwards had any aspirations of improving during Saturday’s Pro Stock qualifying, it was going to have to come during the first session.

“The track was really, really good,” Edwards said. “But tonight's conditions were just a little bit worse, a little bit more humid. But you know we were...just made another great run this morning and we had a little trouble with our engine so we changed engines the second run.”

The conditions may not have been conducive for improvement but that didn’t stop him from setting the pace for the evening session, bad conditions, new engine and all.

“We feel like we're still in good shape, even with another engine in there,” Edwards proclaimed. “We’ve got some good engines and we're real comfortable with what we've got.”

DOWN TO THE WIRE – Rickie Jones enters Sunday’s final qualifying sessions as the 17th quickest Pro Stocker amongst the 31 in attendance. Sunday will be crucial for the ninth ranked driver as he has two sessions to get into field. Johnny Gray, ranked eleventh, is currently 10th in the field. Warren Johnson, who is tenth, is the 15th quickest.

 

The pressure should be mounting for Jones but instead, the son of chassis builder Rick Jones, instead chooses to focus on his blessings.

 

“I feel fine,” Jones said. “I'm healthy. I'm alive. Business is doing good. We're way better off than a lot of people in the rest of the world are. We're here racing at the US Nationals. We're going to try to qualify. I think we made a lot better run and we're making a lot better progress.

 

“I think it was last year that we didn't get in until Sunday morning so if we could just duplicate that. Pressure doesn't really bother me. I just want to go out there and do the best we can and if we make it then I guess we deserve it. We're not giving up and the guys behind us are going to have to earn it just like us.”

 

NEW MUSTANGS STILL BRIDLED – Jim Cunningham and Erica Enders took delivery of the first two 2010 Ford Mustangs to race on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series early last week. The new cars are equipped with what is branded as “interim” engines until their new Hemi parts become available.

 

The aerodynamics yielded improved results but the Mustangs are still lacking in the horsepower department. The team tested for a couple of days before entering the U.S. Nationals.

 

“We have a lot to look forward to once we get the blocks and heads,” said Enders, who was 30th after three sessions with a 6.823, 201.46 best pass. Team owner and teammate Jim Cunningham was quicker with a 6.753, 203.83.

 

The cars are twins, but were built in different shops. The Enders Mustang was started in Don Ness’ shop but completed by Dennis Burnevik of Sinned Customs. Cunningham’s Ford was built by Jerry Haas Race Cars.

 

“I’m just happy to be in the car and both chassis builders did a good job of building the cars,” Enders said. “We have some tuning to do but until we get the engine parts we are going to be lagging behind. That’s okay because the bodies are a good step in the right direction.”

 

OVERHEARD WJ – Pro Stock racer Warren Johnson regarding the NHRA’s silence following his recent controversial comments during the

“I haven’t heard from them. They must be really mad at me because they didn’t drug test me this weekend. Usually when they get mad at me they send me for a drug test.”

 

SOME WORK TO DO - Jeg Coughlin Jr. is still searching for the right combination through three of five qualifying runs. He is just inside the No. 12 cutoff spot with an 11th-best 6.650 at 208.04 mph.

 

"The car is pretty consistent," Coughlin said. "It's just not where we want it to be in relation to the other cars in the field. I feel like we're just missing it by a hair.

 

"The brain trust (crew chief Roy Simmonds and advisor Jeg Coughlin Sr.) is in the hauler right now pouring over the data looking for ways to pick it up. I'm confident we'll figure it out before qualifying is done.

 

"Fortunately for us Indy has five qualifying sessions so we still have lots of time to work on the car and make it better. Tomorrow morning could very well produce the best numbers of the weekend so we need to be ready to roll. No matter what, it appears we're in the field and that we'll be racing for the trophy on Monday, which is always the first goal of every event."

 

Coughlin entered this event with a 65-point lead in the Full Throttle championship points. Should he manage to hold onto the No. 1 ranking through Monday's eliminations he will enter the Countdown to 1 playoffs with a 20-point bonus for finishing the regular season on top.

 

After this event, the regular season points gathered by the top 10 racers in the category will be reset and the drivers will be separated by 10 points each.

 

POINTS LEADER THERE, GROUND ZERO HERE – Frank Gugliotta, the current IHRA Pro Stock point leader, has traded in his mountain motor Pro Stock engine, for at least this weekend, to race a 500-incher for Richard Freeman and J.R. Carr.

 

Gugliotta has no visions of grandeur about winning the event, but just getting to play in the show on Monday would be quite the accomplishment.

 

“I’d like to qualify here just like a whole bunch of other people would,” Gugliotta admitted.

 

Make no mistake qualifying would be more than just an accomplishment for the Elite Motorsports/Agri-Pak team.

 

“Coming from IHRA running mountain motor cars to qualify here at the biggest one of them all would make my year,” Gugliotta said. “When Richard called me up, and he calls me Big, he said ‘Big we're going to run Indy.”

 

“I said for real? He said yeah you want to do it? You're kind of skeptical doing something like this. This is a hard deal right here. He didn’t have to ask me twice.”

 

 

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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - 

MARATHON MAN - Mike Edwards knows very well that the first leg of a marathon is no indicator of what the last leg will bring. If it did, he’d be celebrating his tenth No. 1 qualifying effort of the 2009 season.

For now, the Coweta, Ok.-based Edwards will go back to the drawing board on Saturday morning in an effort to improve on his 6.624 elapsed time at 207.66 miles per hour recorded on Friday evening.

“Four more (qualifying) runs and there were a lot of cars that were just getting started so I'm sure that won't hold up,” Edwards said. “We're going to have to keep battling and keep making the best adjustments we can and keep racing the track and see what comes up.”

Edwards doesn’t treat Indy any different than a standard national event and for him, that’s what works for him.

“We make the same adjustments and prepare ourselves the same way, it's just another race for us,” Edwards explained. “I mean it's Indy and it's the US Nationals but as far as our set up it's just another race.”

ON HIS HEELS – Greg Anderson landed in the second spot following qualifying Friday, confident that Saturday holds more promise for his KB Racing team.

“Although it was not what I would consider a good, quality run, it was still a nice start by our Summit Racing team,” said Anderson. “We had way too much of a wheel stand on that run. I don’t know if we have a broken wheelie bar or what else could be wrong, but it was a bit of a handful to drive, so to qualify No. 2 is definitely promising.

“Apparently we came here with a decent set-up and a good amount of power.  Considering Jason and I are second and third, and I set top speed, things seem to be getting better.  I know it’s only one day, but you definitely want to start out strong and not put yourself in an early hole.  With our performance today, everyone should be pretty happy, and we’re itching to get back here tomorrow.”

VERSATILITY – If anything, Matt Hartford has proven versatile over the last half-decade. He’s won a championship in Sport Compact and raced a 500-inch Pro Stocker. When the opportunity became available he stepped in to driver a 220-mph, mountain motor Pro Stocker. He then switched over to eighth-mile drag racing and this weekend, he’s back behind the wheel of a 500-inch Pro Stocker.

Hartford was 15th on Friday after making his first competitive Pro Stock run in the Nitro Fish Pro Stock Dodge, 6.696 at 205.98.  He and crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia were pleased with the effort that followed testing Tuesday and Wednesday at St. Louis.

"We were the first Pro Stock pair to go down the track and I'm pretty happy with our run," said Hartford.  "We got tune-up data and now we can get ready for Saturday's two qualifying runs.

"It's tough out there.  There are 32 of the best Pro Stock cars trying to get into the 16-car field.

"I think it was a good start," added Guarnaccia. "That was the first run on a new motor and it ran decent speed."

 

ROY JOHNSON: THROUGH THE YEARS - Roy Johnson, father of Pro Stocker racer Allen Johnson, says his son gets his competitive spirit honestly – from his mother.

“She’s just as competitive of a spirit as I am,” said the elder Johnson, whose talents as an engine builder are showcased by his son’s front-running Mopar.

Johnson began racing in the 1960s and concluded his career in 1986. The Greeneville, Tenn.-based native primarily raced IHRA competition because that was the predominant series in the region. He won two world championships and finished runner-up twice. His success was garnered during consecutive seasons beginning in 1975.

Two years ago Johnson suffered a heart attack while working at the NHRA CSK Nationals in Phoenix, Az., which proved to be a significant setback, it has not slowed the determined engine builder. He still has the same competitive fire burning, even to the point he’d like to take a run at racing again, but only on his terms.

Each time his son has broached the super, the father has declined.

“Yeah he’s tried and even offer up the chance,” said Johnson, as he looked over the team’s Mopar-sponsored Pro Stocker. “I wouldn’t mind a Stocker or Super Stocker. Like one of those Hemi Challengers.”

Johnson even noticed Top Fuel legend Don Garlits competing in one of those Hemi Challengers over the course of the Indy weekend.

“I doubt I could pull off a .007 light like he did,” Johnson said. “I’d probably go red.”

This idea of racing on a casual nature is nothing new for Johnson, whose last racing experience was in Competition Eliminator. He’s been in talks with former Pro Stock Motorcycle team owner George Bryce about driving one of his forthcoming Hemi Super Stock 1968 Barracudas. That project is on hold for now.

Until that day arrives, he’s channeling his energies into making the team’s 500-inch Pro Stock engines run quicker than ever, the best way he knows how. Johnson learned how to build engines the old school way and perfected them in the modern era.

“Back in the early days we didn’t even have a dyno,” Johnson said. “I just used the seat of my pants and the work of my hands to advance our team.”

He might not use the seat of his pants to make a car run quicker anymore, but that doesn’t prevent the application of old school technology in the current mix.

“You’d be amazed at the old thoughts that still works today,” Johnson pointed out. “It comes down to when you get down to figuring out what is wrong you look back at something that went wrong years ago and you see a parallel. You use that as a tool.”

Experience has always been a great tool for Johnson. Whether he races or not, one thing is for certain when it comes to Johnson, he’s happy living vicariously through his son.

“It was a dream I always wanted to do and I am just happy living it through him,” Johnson said. “The first time Allen got in a car, he was as good as I was … he grew up with me and watched me race and learned how to do it all … he learned from my screw-ups what not to do. I think he was as good as I was from the get go and he’s only taken it further.

“I didn’t have the resources to do any of this [Pro Stock racing] but we always made the best of what we had to work with.”

HEY, ISN'T THAT A PONTIAC? - Mike Edwards Racing has added Contemporary Corvette.com as an associate sponsor to the Young Life/A.R.T. Pontiac Pro Stock for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. The newest marketing partner with Edwards will actively support and help promote the race team as part of the strategic partnership in respect to particular goals during the events at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. The company was also on the car for the NHRA stop in Reading.

“We are very fortunate to have a company like Contemporary Corvette come on board and help us at this most crucial stage of the season,” Edwards said. “We will do everything we can to make this partnership stronger and more valuable for them as we do with all of our marketing partners. By adding support to our team, it only helps us elevate our entire business model at all levels in promoting Mike Edwards Motorsports’ team message.”

Located in Bristol, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia, owner Ron DeSmedt opened his doors for business in 1990 with three Corvettes and a half-acre of what he calls "the Field of Broken Dreams." Now, after tremendous success, he has expanded to four acres to house the nearly 450 Corvettes that occupy the grounds. The company features an all-inclusive website contemporarycorvette.com, where customers can find nearly any part for a Corvette, or 1-800-FOR-VETTE-PARTS to speak with them over the phone.

The company’s name and website will be on the front hood of the red Pontiac GXP of Edwards, while the 1-800-FOR-VETTE-PARTS will be on the hood scoop this weekend at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

 

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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - SAY IT AIN'T SO, AN INDY WITHOUT GLIDDEN

INDY'S FAVORITE SON CALLS IT A DAY - Warren Johnson, Bruce Allen, Butch Leal, Lee Shepherd, and Frank Iaconio were fighting him for NHRA Pro Stock supremacy in the 1970s and '80s. Rickie Smith, Darrell Alderman, Ronnie Sox, Wayne Gapp, Lee Edwards, and Roy Hill were trying to outduel him in IHRA competition, as well.
 
Back then, Bob Glidden constantly had to find that extra edge to run quicker and quicker, even if it was by a mere one-thousandth of a second. He had to be relentless, honing his tuning and driving skills with nearly every trip to the racetrack.
 
It paid off, in 10 NHRA series championships, including five straight, and one in the IHRA. And this man who was voted the NHRA's No. 4 drag racer of all-time still owns the NHRA record for consecutive top-qualifying positions at 23, including all 14 events in 1987.
 
Today, at age 65, as he plans to skip this weekend's U.S. Nationals -- the event he has won an NHRA-record nine times -- Glidden's pleasure is not at the dragstrip but rather at the golf course. And the funny twist to it is that he claims he's a lousy golfer and has no delusions he'll get any better.
 
It sounds rather un-Gliddenish, his carefree attitude toward golf.
 
He was famous for his work ethic. He practiced his reaction times at the Christmas tree, tinkered with parts to maximize their efficiency, and tweaked his own tune-ups to win, round after round, race after race, season after season. It seemed only natural that he would embrace golf, rather attack it, in an effort to be the best he could be. Who wouldn't have expected him to study his stance, concentrate on his swing, spend hours improving his putting game, and strive to perfect all the mechanics of the sport that can be every bit as demanding as one-man-band drag racing?
 
But no, not Glidden. This is the mellow fellow, the one happy just to enjoy the scenery and get in some exercise, the otherwise-perfectly-content-to-stay-at-home Glidden.
 
"I really have no reason to go out  (to O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis), so I'd just as soon stay home," the Whiteland, Ind., resident said. "I'm not a good spectator."
 
Besides, he said wryly, "I've been there a lot of times."
 
He was in the winners circle there at the Clermont track nine times from 1973 through 1988, including four consecutive years. That's more than Don Garlits' Top Fuel mark of eight which Tony Schumacher could tie this Labor Day. It's three Indianapolis victories more than both Pro Stock nemesis Warren Johnson and the late Pro Stock Motorcycle icon Dave Schultz have had. Modern-day Pro Stock headliner Greg Anderson and former Funny Car standout Ed "The Ace" McCulloch each have five victories there.

Glidden, however, is not all that sentimental about the U.S. Nationals.
 
"It's been a long time. That was then. This is now," he said with a tone of finality in his voice. "I miss being around it, but when it's time to go, you should go."
 
Is he perturbed about something? "No," he said, "I'm just not involved in racing and I don't foresee that changing."
 
Aside from repairing the odd problems with his thirty-some-odd-year-old house, he said, "I just do a whole lot of nothing. It's pretty easy to keep busy, to tell you the truth. I'm busy all the time. I just kind of do whatever I want to do when I want to do it right now. I get up about 6:30 or 7, but I stay busy every day."
 
And then he has his golf outings.
 
"I beat a golf ball some," he said. "I'm a horrible golfer. I get worse each time I play. I am so weak because of all this crazy heart trouble I've had. I was never good, but I like to at least get out and play. I do (love it)."
 
Improve? That's not likely, he said: "Oh, I'm not going to get better. But I'm so bad, I can't get much worse."
 
With a blithe shrug that no one at the racetrack ever saw on one of those rare occasions when he didn't perform his best, Glidden said, "If the worst thing that happens to you is you have a bad golf game, you're still in pretty good shape."
 
Maybe it's just as well that Glidden isn't testing his heart strength with the economic climate added to a grueling 24-race schedule -- or the responsibility of tuning a car for the kind of battle he said he sees shaping up in the Pro Stock class during this year's Countdown.
 
The Pro Stock class, Glidden said, will weather the economic storm. But he sympathized with racers for whom withdrawn factory support could mean a crushing blow. Warren Johnson and son Kurt Johnson are braced for the worst. Warren Johnson is the man about whom Glidden's wife and longtime crew chief Etta recalled, "They were dead-ass enemies."
 
Still, Glidden offered this: "It wouldn't hurt the NHRA to help guys like Kurt and Warren. I think if the NHRA gets involved in getting sponsors, they'll do it for the nitro classes but not for Pro Stock." Does he think the NHRA will try to help the Pro Stock drivers? Glidden laughed at the notion. "No, I don't," he said.
 
He predicted that the Pro Stock championship will come down to four drivers: Jeg Coughlin, Mike Edwards, Jason Line, and Greg Anderson.
 
"I think it will come down to those four, but there are three or four who can affect the outcome.," Glidden said. "If Jeg has the performance (from his car) . . .  When it comes down to pressure, he's just the best there is."
 
Mike Edwards, he said, has had a performance advantage for so long. "And you can't count out Greg and Jason," Glidden said. Allen Johnson and Ron Krisher are the two Glidden mentioned as spoilers.
 
"It's going to be a very interesting Countdown this year, not only in Pro Stock," Glidden said, "but in Top Fuel and Funny Car, also."
 
He said he has noticed that second-year Top Fuel driver and points leader Antron Brown "can handle" the pressure of champions chasing him in the six-race playoff. He said Brown could win the championship -- "if they (the Matco Tools Dragster crew) can just keep their car competitive.  . . . Of course, Larry Dixon will be there. Tony Schumacher's going to be there. It's going to be a great race.
 
"And there are about six Funny Car (drivers) who could win the championship."
 
He has high hopes, he said, for contender Ashley Force Hood.
 
"I think Ashley Force (Hood) can do it. I think she would need a couple of real good breaks and then some help from her teammates," Glidden said. "What really surprises me is what a good job she does driving. I'm really amazed at what a good job she does.
 
"She is a racer," he said. "And outside of the car, she's better than her dad. She's just awesome. She gets her sponsors in there without beating them to death. And she always has something interesting to say. Her interviews are not boring at all."
 
Neither is one with Bob Glidden, the surprisingly hapless but happy golfer.
 
He doesn't move at the restless pace that defined him for 30 years as a champion driver and even more as a crew chief. He stinks at golf. Furthermore, he doesn't care if he moves slower these days and on the links with the grace a Purdue Boilermaker linebacker.
 
Glidden's fans don't mind, either. But they do feel a twinge of sadness that he's not a skilled spectator. -Susan Wade

ANDERSON + INDY = SUCCESS - It seems like just yesterday, although it was 2001, when Greg Anderson earned the first of five U.S. Nationals victories. 

He sat there in the media center at what was then named Indianapolis Raceway Park, not accustomed to all the attention. He looked almost stunned at his success. After all, he had just won his first NHRA Pro Stock race that April 29 at Bristol, Tenn.
 
"How did this happen?" Anderson said several times.
 
Well, Anderson got used to winning and interviews pretty quickly. By 2003, he was winning 12 races, then 15 the next year, taking the class by storm and generating talk of dynasty and domination as the Minnesota native and North Carolina transplant reeled off three straight championships.
 
Realty set in soon enough, and the rest of the class caught up with Anderson's performance level. Just the same, he was runner-up the past three years. But the Summit Racing Pontiac driver struggled this season until Aug. 16, when he won the Brainerd, Minn., event.
 
This weekend, as he goes for his sixth Mac Tools U.S. Nationals triumph at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, Anderson is wondering if his testing risk will pay off.
 
Perhaps because he has, in public-relations representative Jon Knapp's words "a virtual encyclopedia of tuning notes" about the storied racetrack at Clermont, Ind., Anderson chose to test not at Indianapolis this past week but rather at zMax Dragway, near his Mooresville, N.C., shop.
 
"This is where we will start the Countdown. I hope that decision won't come back to bite us," Anderson said, "although I noticed we weren't the only ones in Pro Stock who didn't test in Indy. So I feel a little better about our decision."
 
That decision surprised even himself a bit.
 
"I've always gone there to test in the past and sworn I always would, given our success there," he said. "However, this year will be the exception."
 
"We know we’re pretty much locked into fourth (to begin the Countdown), but we still want to end on a high note, peaking as we go into the playoffs. I think our Summit Racing team has done very well the last three or four races, and certainly don't want to stumble this weekend, so it's very important for us to have a good race," Anderson said.
 
"Besides, I still go to every race looking to win, and even more so when it's Indy," he said. "With apologies to the NHRA, I'm not really thinking about the Countdown or points this weekend, because this is the U.S. Nationals. I am going there to win."
 
No one can deny Anderson's record on the O'Reilly Raceway Park surface. He has five victories in seven final-round appearances there and eight finishes in at least the semifinals.
 
In the Pro Stock class, only Bob Glidden, with nine victories, and Warren Johnson, with six, have won more at Indianapolis. In all pro categories, Anderson ranks sixth best at "The Big Go." Top Fuel aces Don Garlits, with eight wins, and Tony Schumacher, with seven, are ahead of him, and late Pro Stock Motorcycle legend Dave Schultz had six.
 
Anderson's most recent U.S. Nationals victory was in 2006, when he was No. 1 qualifier. He has led the field three times in nine career starts and has seven total starts in the top three positions.
 
"I can't really pinpoint why we've been so successful at the U.S. Nationals," Anderson said. "I guess it could have something to do with my believing it's so special that I prepare that much more or dig down deeper and race that much harder. Whatever the reason, our Summit Racing team always seems to put in a better effort at Indy. We treat it like it's more important, and maybe that's why we've had so much success there."
 
No matter how he had fared there, Anderson has a huge respect for the tradition of Indianapolis.
 
"The U.S. Nationals have always been more important to me than ten other races combined," he said. "I don't know if it came from my upbringing with my father, or when I was working on teams with John Hagan and Warren Johnson, but I absolutely believe this race is the biggest in the sport of drag racing. The years that I won the championship, I honestly felt that if I didn't win Indy, my year was not complete, because I consider it to be just as important as winning the championship.
 
"When our Summit Racing team pulls on to the grounds at ORP, I just get a different feeling than I do at any other track we go to," Anderson said. "I know some people say it's just another race, and that the points are the same, but I don't look at it that way. I treat it like it's the most important race of the year."
 
It is right now no matter what, as it is the one right in front of him. But he indicated he won't be resting on his 29-4 elimination round record at O"Reilly Raceway Park.
 
"I've always loved the surface at O'Reilly Raceway Park," Anderson said. "It's a very, very good racetrack, very flat and smooth, and by the time you get to Saturday and Sunday, once you leave the starting line, it's a better surface than we'll see all year long. I don't know if it’s because it's that good or because of the amount of cars that are running there throughout the weekend, but it just ends up being a better quality track. So you don't have a lot of excuses for not running well there.
 
"We're obviously never 100 percent satisfied," he said, "but I feel good about our Summit Racing team heading into this weekend. We're headed in the right direction, and things are definitely getting better. I believe we are now in the position of having a good shot at winning every race we go to, which I couldn't have said a few races ago. We definitely have confidence after that first win in Brainerd and hope it carries over into this weekend, giving us a chance to win Indy."
 
Make that "win again." - Susan Wade

KJ: IN THE EXCLUSIVE CLUB - Make no doubt about it, placing your name among the esteemed roll of drivers who have won the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is an accomplishment that contributes to a distinguished racing career, and if you are one of the few NHRA competitors with multiple Indy victories, then you have gained admittance to a prestigious club that becomes even more exclusive. Since the inception of the Pro Stock class in 1970, only seven drivers in that division have won more than once at Indianapolis, and only six have won in successive seasons – ACDelco's Kurt Johnson's name can be found in both categories.

Johnson scored his first victory at the "Big Go" in 1996 with round wins over Chuck Harris, Tom Martino and Jim Yates before defeating Rickie Smith in the final round. The following year, Johnson ran the table at Indianapolis, earning No. 1 qualifying honors, setting low e.t. and top speed of the meet and completing the weekend sweep with a final-round victory over V. Gaines. Those wins at Indianapolis are two races the Buford, Ga., resident remembers well.

"I remember letting the clutch out and getting to the finish line," Johnson said of his first victory at the U.S. Nationals. "I remember everything about that run. It seems that you always remember everything about the really, really good runs, and everything about the really, really bad ones. When we got down to the stripe the difference was only two-thousandths of a second and that was enough. We did everything we needed to do and luckily we were on the winning end of that game.

"Even though we ran well at Indy in '97, the race wasn't that easy. I wasn't on my driving game until the semifinals and that's when everything kind of came together. In the final against V. Gaines, I was still second off the line, but we ended up getting there first, and that's what mattered."

In addition to his back-to-back wins, Johnson was No. 1 qualifier and runner-up to Greg Anderson in 2003, and during the last two years at O'Reilly Raceway Park, the ACDelco driver has qualified No. 5 and advanced to the semifinals.

"Since it's Indy, and with the Countdown just around the corner, everyone seems to be working a little bit harder and everyone seems to be pumped up and ready to go," Johnson said. "The U.S. Nationals is a long race that finishes up on Labor Day – our big event. Everyone goes to Indianapolis with their best equipment and loaded for bear. Everything is done right, and to go there and win on Monday is a career highlight you never forget, especially if you've never done it before. There's nothing like it.

"Right now there are 36 cars entered for Pro Stock, and with that many cars there are going to be one or two that make a home-run hit to squeeze into that No. 14, 15 or 16 spot. That's not where we want to be. We want to be up at the top so we don't get bit, and that's what we're planning on."

This unique four-day event for the Pro classes means extra track time for the Pro competitors, and five rounds of qualifying including an early-evening session right out of the box on Friday night.

"It helps whenever you can hit a home run right off the bat, and be quick and at the top of the pack," said Johnson of the Friday-night qualifying round. "I wouldn't say it's pressure – it's exciting more than anything. There's a packed grandstand, a lot of sponsors, and the excitement level is way up –it's just fun.

"It helps everybody when you get more runs on the track where you're trying to win a race; you have to be ready when you get there. That one extra run isn’t going to make you or break you. Like any national event, it's about being prepared prior to rolling in the gate, and then making the right calls."

Coming into this year's contest, the 46-year-old veteran driver is eighth in the Full Throttle standings and needs to make just one qualifying pass to clinch a spot in the Countdown to 1 for the top 10 in the standings. It would be Johnson's 17th consecutive top-10 finish, the longest streak among active Pro Stock drivers, and among all active Pro drivers, second only to John Force's 25 straight years with a top-10 finish.

"We want to get in the winner's circle," Johnson said. "When you're a racer and you're as competitive as we are, that's what it's all about. I feel that sometimes there's a little luck involved, and there are times when you use it all up at the beginning of the season and don't have any at the end. Well I think it's going to be a different situation for us this year. We're going to have a little luck, we're going to run better and I think things are going to come together on a positive note. That's what I'm hoping for. We also know it's not all about luck, and that mostly, it's a lot of hard work. We've definitely been busting our butt trying to put this car in the winner's circle, and for some reason that hasn't happened yet."

As the first stage of the Full Throttle season enters its final contest, the ACDelco driver is hoping for a win at Indianapolis that would serve as a springboard into the championship phase of the 2009 campaign.

"The biggest thing is track time," Johnson said. "In order to get these cars to go faster you have to spend endless dollars renting race tracks and burning up parts, and that's what it's all about, to look at that e.t. slip. They don't print an e.t. slip here in the dyno room and they don’t print an e.t. slip in the assembly room where you put your car together. It's about being at the track, getting hooked up and going A to B."

THE IMPORTANCE OF INDY - Reigning Pro Stock champion and current Full Throttle point leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. was just 6 years old when his father Jeg Coughlin Sr. won his first of two Indy trophies. But even at that tender age, Jeg Jr. realized how important it was to claim glory on drag racing's most hallowed grounds.
 
Sixteen years later, the extraordinary feeling of accomplishment that comes from conquering the sport's longest running event returned when Jeg Jr. watched from the grandstands as older brother Troy Coughlin handled a competitive Super Gas class to earn the hardware.
 
Just a year after that, Jeg Jr. was in the driver's seat of his own JEGS-sponsored Super Gas hot rod, beating veteran Sherman Adcock for his first U.S. Nationals title. It was almost too much for the lifelong drag racer to comprehend and the memory is as special now as it was 17 years ago.
 
"It's the ultimate feeling of accomplishment for a drag racer," Jeg Jr. said. "Indy always has been the race everyone points to as the one to win. It is such a historic event. The feeling you get when you win there is really hard to describe.
 
"I remember 1992 quite well. My great friend Sherman Adcock was in the other lane and when we pulled around the corner and I saw those packed grandstands it was overwhelming, like a dream. I will never forget the elation I felt when the win light came on. The coolest part of it all was sharing the winner's circle with my dad and his parents, Gaga and Papa, and Mr. Wally Parks himself. I still get chills thinking about that day."
 
Jeg Jr. has won Indy three more times in his career, twice in Pro Stock (2000 and 2002), and once more in the 2004 Mopar Hemi Challenge, when he drove Michael Ogburn's '68 Barracuda factory race car to a victory.
 
"In a race that means so much to the history of our sport it's really neat that Team JEGS has left it's mark on the U.S. Nationals," Jeg Jr. said. "Dad won here a few times, Troy got that win in 1991, my brother Mikey won Pro Stock Truck in 1999 and 2001, and my other brother John was runner-up in Pro Stock Truck there in 2000.
 
"This year, my nephew Troy Jr., is racing at his first U.S. Nationals so now we've got a third generation coming into the picture. How cool is that?"
 
The NHRA leader in races won this season after claiming victory No. 6 at the tour's last stop in Reading, Pa., Jeg Jr. enters Indy, the last race of the regular season, with a 65-point lead in the standings. Should he maintain his top ranking through the event, he'll start the six-race Countdown to 1 playoffs with a 30-point lead over his nearest rival, which includes a 20-point bonus for leading the regular season. Jeg Jr. has led the points for the last 13 races dating back to April 5th in Las Vegas.
 
"It's really, really big to come into Indy off our Reading win," Jeg Jr. said. "It showed once again that when we get all our ducks in a row we can run with anyone in the class. It was a great boost for this JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt race team and everyone at Victor Cagnazzi Racing.
 
"I think the guys all know how big this race is for the team. We were just talking the other day about when the U.S. Nationals were on ABC's Wide World of Sports. I remember 'Big Daddy' Don Garlits shaving his beard on national TV. I remember 'the Snake' and 'the Mongoose' racing in the finals just after 'the Mongoose' had lost his son. The list goes on and on.
 
"Many of the most indelible memories of this sport originate from Indy. I just hope we can make a few more memories of our own this time through. No matter what, I know I'll get goosebumps when I pull through the gates. I always do." 

 

 

 

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