2009 NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS - SAME DAY COVERAGE
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SUNDAY FINAL: HIGHT EXTENDS POINT LEAD WITH FUNNY CAR WIN
Massey, Morgan and Hines also win at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Robert Hight raced to his third victory of the season Sunday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals and is on the verge of winning his first Funny Car world championship crown.
Spencer Massey, Larry Morgan and Andrew Hines also were winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the fifth of six events in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.
Hight beat second place driver and teammate Ashley Force Hood in the first round of eliminations and then pulled out a very close final round victory over Jack Beckman to take a 105-point lead in the standings.
“It’s amazing what a win can do and get that confidence back,” said Hight, who powered his Auto Club Ford Mustang to a performance of 4.125 seconds at 304.46 to edge Beckman’s Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger at the finish line, which trailed with a 4.154 at 303.16. It was Hight's 14th career victory and his second at this track.
“That was a close race in the final,” Hight continued. “All the runs this weekend the car was on its performance. The championship isn’t over yet, but to have a 105-point lead gives you a lot of confidence. You hate to make predictions, but way back in Bristol I said this car is too good and this team is too good and we will still contend for the championship. Back then we weren’t even in the top 10. Sometimes those predictions can come back to bite you, but I believed in our team and now here we are. I may not qualify at Pomona and be out of it, because anything can happen, but the way our car is running right now I like our chances. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
In Top Fuel, Auto Club Road to the Future nominee Spencer Massey earned his second victory of the season, beating team owner Don “The Snake” 
Prudomme’s former driver, Larry Dixon, in the final round.
Massey, who outran Shawn Langdon, Steve Torrence and Brandon Bernstein to reach the final, powered his U.S. Smokeless dragster to a 3.827 at 314.53 in the final to beat Dixon, whose Al-Anabi Racing Dragster lost traction at the start and posted a 5.503 at 174.87.
“It’s unbelievable just being able to get to the final round,” said Massey, who replaced Dixon in the cockpit of the Prudhomme-owned dragster in the off-season. Dixon drove Prudhomme’s car for 14 seasons before joining Alan Johnson’s team this season.
“Every race car out here is capable of winning races,” Massey continued. “The competition is so tight out here. Every round was a key round and meant something because for points, we’re down to the wire. And not only for points, but we’re also going for the Wally at the end of the day. It means a whole lot to me personally and to ‘Snake’ and everybody because we’ve been struggling here in the Countdown; we just haven’t been on our game. So it’s nice to come in here and throw down these good numbers and go A to B and not beat ourselves because that’s what we’ve really been doing all year long. We got a handle on it, and now we’ve got some momentum.”
Massey is among four rookies eligible for the Auto Club Road to the Future award, including this weekend’s Funny Car top qualifier Matt Hagan and fellow Top Fuel driver Langdon and Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Doug Horne. Massey says picking the winner this year will be a tough chore for the more than 135 members of the media who will vote to decide it.
“I don’t like to think that I should or shouldn’t [win rookie of the year],” Massey said. “I don’t really think like that. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I would like for it to happen, but Shawn [Langdon] is an awesome racer and so is Matt Hagan and Doug Horne. Obviously, we’ve got a couple 
of wins now and the points are the points, but there’s a whole lot of different situations and things that happen for the rookie of the year. I don’t know if it draws a line under it or puts a check by my name or whatever, but I’d love to find out at the end of Pomona that it happened that way."
With the runner-up finish, Dixon now trails series leader and six-time champ Tony Schumacher by one point. Veteran driver Cory McClenathan, who defeated Schumacher in the second round, is in third in the title hunt, 48 points back.
Morgan scored his first win since 2002 and 10th of his career in Pro Stock, outrunning first-time finalist Rickie Jones in the final round. Morgan posted a 6.720 at 205.69 in his Lucas Oil Dodge Stratus to hold off Jones’ Elite Motorsports Stratus, which trailed with a 6.794 at 203.16.
“I threw a hundred dollars in a slot machine and won $1,200, and I thought I might be pretty lucky here,” said Morgan, who beat Jason Line, Mike Edwards and Greg Stanfield in earlier rounds. “I felt relaxed all day and everything was going our way. We put ourselves in a position to win and I guess I drove well enough to beat the bad guys out here.”
Edwards now holds a 139-point lead over second place Greg Anderson. Edwards needs only to qualify at the season finale to clinch the series title.
Hines took his third win of the season and 18th of his career in Pro Stock Motorcycle when series leader Hector Arana fouled at the start in the final round on his Lucas Oil Buell.
“I felt really good today,” said Hines, who rode his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to earlier round wins over Fred Camarena, Doug 
Horne and Matt Smith . “For some reason, I get into these races and get all caught up in the battles and rivalries, but today I was relaxed. Today, I didn’t really care. I just went out there to ride and have fun. I had no pressure today.
“In the final, Hector must have been rattled. He did a neutral burnout. He didn’t put the bike in gear, and that’s never a good thing. When I heard that, I had a feeling that I was going to get the win light.
With the runner-up finish Arana increased his series lead to 54 over defending champ Eddie Krawiec. Arana defeated Krawiec in a titan semifinal match with a holeshot start.
The 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season concludes Nov. 12-15 at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.
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SATURDAY - EDWARD CLOSE TO CLINCHING FIRST PRO STOCK TITLE
Funny Car title contenders Hight and Force Hood to meet in important first round; Dixon, Hagan and Arana also No. 1 qualifiers at NHRA Las Vegas Nationals
Mike Edwards earned his category leading 15th No. 1 qualifying position in Pro Stock Saturday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals and now sits only a few points away from clinching his first NHRA world championship trophy.
Larry Dixon, Matt Hagan, and Hector Arana also were No. 1 qualifiers at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
With a successful day in Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations (ESPN2 HD, 7:30 p.m. ET), Edwards can secure his first Full Throttle Series world championship title. Following qualifying, he leads closest challengers Greg Anderson and Jason Line, both former champs, by 139 and 168 points respectively.
“We’re looking to try and seal the deal,” Edwards said. “This is a huge thing for us, and we’re all excited about it. We’re looking forward to tomorrow, and hopefully we can fulfill our dreams. No matter the outcome, it’s been an extraordinary year for us. We’ve worked real hard, and now we’re in a position to do something we’ve never been able to do. Maybe we can get it done tomorrow.”
Edwards, who earned his 21st No. 1 effort of his career with a track record performance of 6.623 at 207.75 in his A.R.T. Pontiac GXP, needs to lead the second place driver by at least 151 points following eliminations to secure the title.
“You just go into it like it’s another first round, like you’ve done all season long,” Edwards said. “You just have to focus, do your job, and hope for the best. It’s just like every other race. There’s a lot riding on it, but that’s just what you’ve got to do.”
Dixon claimed his ninth No. 1 of the season in Top Fuel and 40th of his career with his Friday performance of 3.805 at 318.24 in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster. With his qualifying effort he cut series leader Tony Schumacher’s lead by six to 41 points. Schumacher qualified fourth is his U.S. Army dragster with a 3.839 at 313.07.
“You can pick up the nickels and the pennies and all that kind of points in qualifying, but you get 20 points per round on race day, and that’s what makes a big chunk,” said Dixon, a two-time Top Fuel world champion. “At this point, I’m not looking any further than Morgan Lucas [in the first round]. It’s a great car. It’s a Countdown car, so you’ve just got to go in there and race your own race and not get ahead of yourself… If we’re fortunate enough to go on to win the race, then obviously we’ll have made up some ground.”
Rookie Hagan earned his second No. 1 effort in Funny Car with his Friday run of 4.030 at 313.88 in his Shelor.com Dodge Charger. The nominee for the Auto Club Road to the Future Award, which recognizes NHRA’s top rookie performer for the year, will face New Zealand's Grant Downing in the first round.
“We’ve had a great weekend so far, and the only way for us to top this off is with a win tomorrow,” said Hagan. “This is a good team and a good car, and we showed that we can run in the heat this morning and we’ve got a good tune-up. I think that’s what Tommy [DeLago, crew chief] is going to do tomorrow. I think he’s going to go right back to what we did this morning and make it go right down the track. That’s what I’m looking forward to, and hopefully our plan will come together and work for us.”
Hagan’s competition for the top rookie award are Top Fuel drivers Shawn Langdon and Spencer Massey and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Doug Horne. All four drivers have made significant impacts in their respective pro categories in the Full Throttle Series this season and the outcome should be very close. The winner will be announced Nov. 16 at the NHRA Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles. More than 135 members of the media vote to determine the winner.
“I would love to come out here and win [the rookie of the year award], but if it doesn’t happen, you know that you got beat by the better guy — that’s the same way as winning on the dragstrip in the morning,” Hagan said. “I think there’s definitely some talent out here. I think all the rookies are learning and growing together. As the year has gone along, I think you can see us all polish our driving skills and really focus more on what we have to do to get these cars and motorcycles down the track.”
Also in Funny Car, a blockbuster first round meeting between the top two championship contenders, Robert Hight and Ashley Force Hood, could put the winner of that round in the championship driver’s seat heading into the season finale in Pomona, Calif. (Nov. 12-15).
"If Robert wins then I want him to win the race,” said Force Hood, who struggled most of the weekend in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang and barely made it into the 16-car starting lineup on her final qualifying attempt. “We want one of us to win this championship. It has come to the end and there are only a handful of rounds left. If it is not going to be our team winning it then I want this Auto Club team to get it.”
Said Hight: “We qualified well and got some points in just about every qualifying session. I think that puts us more than a round ahead of her so if we lose it is still not over. Those qualifying points that the NHRA came up with….good job. Those definitely helped us. We are just going to go out there and give the fans a good side by side show.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, series leader Arana earned his seventh No. 1 of the season on his Lucas Oil Buell with his quick time of 6.979 at 192.03 from Friday. Arana’s closest championship challenger, defending champ Eddie Krawiec, qualified fourth on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
“Everything’s happening so fast this year,” Arana said. “I qualified No. 1 in 1994, I believe, and then I went through a dry spell, and now I have seven this year, so it’s awesome. I know that Eddie Krawiec is on my side of the ladder, so I just got to stay focused. All I need to do is stay consistent on my lights, and I should prevail.”
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - DIXON, HAGAN, EDWARDS AND ARANA LEAD QUALIFYING AT NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS
Larry Dixon raced to the Top Fuel qualifying lead Friday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.
Matt Hagan, Mike Edwards and Hector Arana also led their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, the fifth of six races in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.
Dixon, currently second in the championship standings, powered his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to a performance of 3.805 seconds at a track record speed of 318.24 mph at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. If his time holds through Saturday’s two qualifying sessions (11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) it will be his ninth No. 1 of the season and 40th of his career.
“That’s a great run for the Al-Anabi team,” Dixon said. “His Highness Sheik Kalid is in the house this week. There’s a lot on the line the next two weeks, so we’re out there trying to do our best.
“Without the qualifying bonus points, being more than two rounds of racing out against a car like [Tony] Schumacher’s, you couldn’t make up the points in two races. I know there was one race where we made up 12 points, there was one where we made up seven points, and they obviously start adding up. It would be tough to make up ground if we didn’t have that. Alan [Johnson, team owner] and Jason [McCulloch, crew chief] and everybody on the Al-Anabi team is really trying to do everything we can. We’re trying to not leave anything on the table because it’s not going to do any good to talk in the wintertime about what-ifs.”
Series leader Tony Schumacher, who holds a 45 point lead over Dixon, was third overall with a 3.893 at 313.07 in his U.S. Army dragster.
Rookie driver Hagan paced the Funny Car order with his track record performance of 4.030 seconds at 313.88 mph in his Shelor.com Dodge Charger.
“This track has always been good to me,” Hagan said. “Hopefully, we can take a Wally home this weekend. We’ve got a great race car. Tommy [DeLago, crew chief] is doing his job tuning the car. Hopefully, I can do my job driving the car, and when we put two and two together, it ought to add up. I know we’ve got a fast hot rod, and we’ve got a lot of good data from when we were here at the beginning of the year, so hopefully we can go out there and run some good numbers.”
Hagan said he knew the car was on a great run.
“I didn’t have to drive it around a whole lot,” Hagan said. “It just went out there and did what it was supposed to do; it went right down the track. I drove it a little bit far, but when it feels that good, it’s hard to pull your foot out of it. Tommy DeLago, I can’t say enough about that guy. I got the easy job. I just hang on to this thing. Sometimes it can be more difficult than you think, but other times, it just runs right down through there, and that’s what it did tonight.”
Series leader Robert Hight was third with a 4.065 at 308.71 in his Auto Club Ford Mustang, while Ashley Force Hood was 13th in her Castrol GTX Mustang, clocking a 4.163 at 303.23
In Pro Stock, Edwards moved into position to earn his 15th No. 1 qualifying effort of the season and trimmed his magic number for clinching his first world championship title to 19 points, or less than one round over three-time champ Greg Anderson. Edwards posted a track record performance of 6.623 at 207.75 in his A.R.T./Young Life Pontiac GXP to lead the category.
“Our lead isn’t very big — this is Pro Stock,” Edwards said with a grin. “There’s no quit in these guys out here. It’s not over. I promise you Greg Anderson and Jason Line and Jeggie -- they’re still after this, so we’ve just got to keep focused and try to do our best. We’ll come out here tomorrow and race the track and race the conditions and hopefully we can stay in front.”
Edwards could possibly clinch his first Pro Stock crown on Sunday if he holds a 151-point lead over the second place driver at the conclusion of this event.
“It’s been quite a season, and to come here and run like this tonight, hat’s off to my guys,” Edwards said. “They’re doing a really great job here. Ever since Richmond, my guys at the shop have been fired up and they’ve been nonstop and they found some more for us. It’s just unbelievable what those guys are doing right now. This car is extremely fast, and I’m just so proud of my whole team. It’s a great feeling to work with a bunch of great guys. Like I’ve (said before), I’m living my dream, and it’s close to coming true.”
Series leader Arana was first in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a performance of 6.979 at 192.03 on his Lucas Oil Buell.
“(That run) released a lot of pressure off my shoulders,” said Arana, who added four more points to his series lead. “For 20 years, I’ve been working at this and wanting this. I’ve wanted to do well and have the fans love me and to know who Hector Arana is, and I am accomplishing those things. It’s an awesome feeling. I’m not going to worry about [the championship] too much because I don’t want to lose my concentration. I just want to keep my focus.”
Second place rider and defending world champ Eddie Krawiec was fourth after two rounds, posting a 7.029 at 190.97 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
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Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the Ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 23rd of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.805 seconds, 318.24 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.831, 314.17; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.839, 313.07; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.855, 313.29; 5. Thomas Nataas, 3.859, 307.65; 6. Cory McClenathan, 3.860, 315.86; 7. Antron Brown, 3.860, 314.09; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 3.863, 315.27; 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.863, 311.34; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 3.881, 304.60; 11. Spencer Massey, 3.884, 309.84; 12. Urs Erbacher, 3.927, 301.33. Not Qualified: 13. Lex Joon, 3.933, 270.16; 14. David Grubnic, 3.978, 301.74; 15. Mike Strasburg, 3.996, 305.91; 16. Steven Chrisman, 3.998, 291.95; 17. Del Cox Jr, 4.032, 252.61; 18. Troy Buff, 4.043, 262.23; 19. Terry McMillen, 4.097, 276.52; 20. Morgan Lucas, 4.389, 276.29; 21. Scott Palmer, 4.998, 147.02; 22. Stig Neergaard, 5.494, 121.56; 23. Rob Passey, 6.132, 109.10; 24. Tim Cullinan, 6.582, 100.10; 25. Chris Karamesines, 11.805, 44.72; 26. Ron August, 15.323, 49.30.
Funny Car -- 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.030, 313.88; 2. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.041, 310.55; 3. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.065, 308.71; 4. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.098, 309.20; 5. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.107, 307.02; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.114, 305.98; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.116, 297.22; 8. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.118, 305.01; 9. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.128, 302.62; 10. Jim Head, Solara, 4.132, 305.84; 11. John Force, Mustang, 4.144, 302.28; 12. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.155, 306.12. Not Qualified: 13. Ashley Force Hood, 4.163, 303.23; 14. Gary Densham, 4.167, 290.76; 15. Jerry Toliver, 4.241, 279.15; 16. Grant Downing, 4.323, 245.32; 17. Jeff Diehl, 4.439, 221.13; 18. Bob Bode, 5.621, 126.74; 19. Jeff Arend, 7.608, 87.49.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.623, 207.75; 2. Vinnie Deceglie, Dodge Stratus, 6.660, 206.23; 3. Ron Krisher, Chevy Cobalt, 6.668, 206.92; 4. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.670, 207.56; 5. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.677, 206.20; 6. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.679, 206.61; 7. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.680, 206.10; 8. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.681, 205.72; 9. Jason Line, GXP, 6.683, 206.86; 10. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.685, 206.23; 11. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.688, 206.35; 12. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.693, 206.07. Not Qualified: 13. Kurt Johnson, 6.695, 206.45; 14. Matt Hartford, 6.699, 205.54; 15. Ronnie Humphrey, 6.708, 206.54; 16. Rickie Jones, 6.720, 204.98; 17. Ryan Ondrejko, 6.726, 204.29; 18. Steve Spiess, 6.729, 204.35; 19. V. Gaines, 6.750, 203.68; 20. Danny Gruninger, 6.815, 203.06; 21. Gordie Rivera, 6.824, 202.39.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.979, 192.03; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.990, 192.25; 3. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.000, 190.48; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.029, 190.97; 5. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.035, 190.43; 6. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.043, 187.96; 7. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.051, 189.47; 8. David Hope, Buell, 7.061, 189.76; 9. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.075, 190.06; 10. Douglas Horne, Buell, 7.075, 188.86; 11. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.076, 188.33; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.106, 186.38. Not Qualified: 13. Freddie Camarena, 7.111, 190.30; 14. Larry Cook, 7.127, 186.36; 15. Jim Underdahl, 7.132, 188.75; 16. Mike Berry, 7.165, 186.05; 17. GT Tonglet, 7.239, 184.12; 18. Bailey Whitaker, 7.252, 182.26; 19. Redell Harris, 7.286, 182.77; 20. Joe DeSantis, 7.291, 184.57; 21. Katie Sullivan, 7.452, 176.74; 22. James Surber, 7.457, 180.55.
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EVENT PREVIEW - COUNTDOWN DRAMA ABOUNDS HEADED INTO NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS
As the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs, comes to the season’s penultimate race in Las Vegas, each professional category in the NHRA 
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series features its own dramatic storyline.
In Top Fuel, every championship contender is gunning to remove a category dominator from the throne he has held for the past five seasons.
In Funny Car, a female driver is trying to make history and become the first of her gender to win a world championship crown in the wildly unpredictable category which her father has dominated for most of two decades. In order to do it, she’ll need to stop five other men who are also in contention, including one multi-time champ, her former driving instructor, a teammate, last season’s series runner-up, and a driver who’s finished second in the championship standings three times.
In Pro Stock, a highly-spiritual and mild-mannered journeyman in the 200 mph category is having a dream season and is on the verge of winning his much sought after first series title. Only a three-time champ stands in his way.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, another popular veteran has emerged as the rider to beat in the competitive two-wheel category and is eight rounds away from making his lifetime dream come true. He will need to hold off the defending world champ to make it happen.
Those storylines and many more will unfold at the ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, at the spectacular Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, is the 23rd of 24 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for 2009, and the fifth of six races in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.
Tony Schumacher is in a familiar place as the series leader in Top Fuel with two races to go. The U.S. Army dragster driver has won the last five championship titles, and six overall, and appears poised to add another trophy to his collection. He has raced to five victories this season and holds a 47-point advantage over two-time champ Larry Dixon entering the final two races. Veteran driver Cory McClenathan (68 points back), regular season champ Antron Brown (81 back) and Virginia winner Brandon Bernstein (120 back) are all realistically in the championship mix.
“Legitimately, there's two or three, probably four cars that can still win the championship, and it’s going to come down to, you know, you’re still in charge of your own destiny,” said Dixon, also a five-time winner this season in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster. “If you go out there and you win out those two races, you’ve done as much as you can do and hope it’s enough and try and get the Full Throttle Championship.”
While Schumacher was the driver who won the championship the past five years, Dixon’s current teammates were the ones who provided Schumacher with the outstanding car.
“I’ve read and heard (Tony) say he gets pumped up when he races us and a lot of the guys on that team is his old team,” Dixon said. “But for me, when I look over it’s still the Army car and he’s still got the No. 1 on it. So I’m trying to do everything I can to help change that.”
Robert Hight has made an incredible leap in the playoffs, powering his Auto Club Ford Mustang from 10th to first in the Funny Car point standings with victories at Charlotte and Dallas. He holds a 13-point lead over Ashley Force Hood, his teammate, who is trying to become the first female in NHRA history to win a championship in the 7,000-horsepower category. Her father, John Force, has won 14 series championships since 1990.
Also in the mix are two-time champ and former Force teammate Tony Pedregon, three-time series runner-up Ron Capps, last season’s series runner-up Tim Wilkerson and former drag racing instructor Jack Beckman.
All six drivers are separated by 86 points. Bob Tasca III is also still hanging by a mathematical thread in his Motorcraft Quick Lane Shelby Mustang at 103 points back.
Force Hood knows the competition for the title is insane; arguably the most intense of any of the four pro categories. She’s just glad to be in position to be a part of it.
“It’s the best spot that we could be in,” Force Hood said. “At the beginning of the year when we have our big team meetings and we get ready to head off to the Winternationals, that’s always our goal. Obviously Robert and I are not the only ones, but we are one and two. So (the others) are going to have to catch up and go around us. If we can just keep doing what we have been doing and not have anything go wrong, no mistakes, no mess‑ups; the tuners can get Vegas and Pomona figured out as far as the tune-up and how they want to set up the car, we will just better our chances of getting the championship.”
Mike Edwards can wrap up his first Pro Stock world championship at Las Vegas if he can go two rounds more than three-time champ Greg Anderson. Edwards, who earned a perfect 150-point race total at the last event in Virginia by producing a stunning national record elapsed time of 6.509 seconds, has had an incredible season behind the wheel of his A.R.T./Young Life Pontiac GXP. He’s earned five race victories and 14 No. 1 qualifying positions to hold a 128-point advantage over Anderson entering the final two stops on the tour.
“I’m thinking (championship), but I don’t have it yet,” Edwards said. “It’s close, but you’ve still got to stay focused. You’ve still got to keep your goals ahead. Those two Summit cars are going to be burning the midnight oil to try and get back up there with me. I’m not going to count my chickens yet before they hatch. But I’m living my dream right now, and I’m real close to it.”
Like Edwards, Hector “The Hammer” Arana can make his lifelong Pro Stock Motorcycle dream a reality with strong performances on his Lucas Oil Buell at the final two races. He leads defending series champ Eddie Krawiec by 28 points. Much like Edwards, he is a veteran in his category who has always showed promise but never claimed the big prize. Also like Edwards, he is producing amazing performances on the track this season. At Memphis earlier this month he lowered the national elapsed time record to 6.851 seconds.
“I’m really pleased with the performance of the bike and this S&S motor,” said Arana, who has won five races this season, including the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and the first two playoff races in Charlotte and Dallas. “It's a helluva piece, and (Pro Stock driver) Larry Morgan’s guys are working hard to keep me winning rounds and races and the title, something we’ve always dreamed of. It’s amazing how everything has turned around for me to win five races this season; now I just need to win (two) more and I’ll be good.”
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