2011 NHRA READING NATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY - MOVING CLOSER TO TITLE TIME
AN EXCLAMATION POINT! - As the NHRA celebrates its most thrilling and cherished memories, it keeps making more.
The unfortunate side to the one that unfolded Monday afternoon in the Top Fuel final round of the Auto-Plus Nationals at Reading, Pa.'s Maple Grove Raceway was that few saw it happen.
In a showdown delayed a day by rain and matching the season-long points leader and the current one, both Spencer Massey in the FRAM/Prestone Dragster and Del Worsham in the Al-Anabi/Toyota Dragster were spectacular.
Massey's .056 reaction time propelled him to a holeshot victory with a 3.770-second pass at 323.12 mph over Worsham, who registered the quickest pass in Top Fuel's 1,000-foot history at 3.735 seconds -- despite a snoozy .101 light -- and earned 20 bonus points for the national elapsed-time record.
Worsham, with a tune-up Brian Husen and Alan Johnson and help from Jason McCulloch, ran .017 quicker than Cory McCleanthan's June 2010 feat at Englishtown, N.J., of 3.752 seconds. Three of his four elimination passes at Maple Grove were below the provisional record Antron Brown had established Saturday evening at 3.766 seconds.
Massey, always enthusiastic, was even more animated as he enjoyed his Todd Okuhara / Phil Shuler-orchestrated performance and retained his lead in the Countdown standings with just three races remaining.
"It was pretty amazing to beat a guy who was on a record run," Massey said following his fourth victory this year in seven final rounds. "It's amazing that Del and Alan Johnson can get the car down the track like they did. This makes the win that much sweeter. Del is usually a good leaver, but I don't know what happened there. Something must have flustered him.
"I did my usual routine at the tree. I try to be consistent, to do the same thing every time I go to the line. I try to pride myself on having the best reaction times," he said. "That's why I got hired . . . to do my job. But I felt like I even missed it some.
"I saw him for a couple hundred feet when his nose stuck out there, and I never saw him again," Massey said. "I just concentrated on getting to the finish line. I looked up and the win light came on. He was right there, so I knew it was a close race. That's when the party started in my head.
"But the key to our success is the great job Phil and Todd do in setting up the FRAM/Prestone dragster, regardless of the conditions, which were really tricky this weekend," Massey said.
Indeed they were. With track temperatures below 70 degrees, they were quite a contrast from the 130-degree-plus Dallas conditions the previous weekend, when Massey finished as runner-up to Bob Vandergriff.
Massey, 29, had plenty of 3.7-second passes to his credit at Reading, too. The Don Schumacher Racing driver qualified third at 3.771 and raced to his third straight final round with a 3.783 (against Dom Lagana), 3.778 (against Tony Schumacher), and a 3.773 (against Worsham's teammate, Larry Dixon).
"Winning the last three rounds in this race was huge," Massey said, "because they came against drivers who are right behind us in the Countdown.
"We've been to three consecutive final rounds in the first three Countdown races and if we continue to do that [in the final three], I think we have a good shot at the championship. I'm excited about heading to Phoenix."
He leads DSR's Antron Brown and his Matco Tools Dragster by 65 points. Worsham, who has won six times in nine finals this year in his return to Top Fuel after 15 years in the Funny Car class exclusively, third in the order, nine points behind Brown.
"We didn't pick up the 20 bonus points for the record, but look what happened to Del," Brown said. "Every point is important, but winning rounds and races is a better plan than going for it all on one run. We just have to keep doing what we've been doing all year. We've got to work hard and the races will take care of themselves."
In less than two weeks, the teams will travel on a second Western Swing to close the season at Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Pomona. The Arizona Nationals will be Oct. 14-16 at Firebird International Raceway at Chandler, south of Phoenix.
UNDER PRESSURE - Robert Hight was finished with holding in his frustration.
And, with the ESPN cameras rolling, following his eighth consecutive Countdown to 1 first round loss, Hight cut loose in a verbal coming to reality interview. It was as if his resolve had blown out like the burst panel on his Auto Club Mustang.
The burst panel is an opening on Funny Cars designed to blow out and alleviate concussion pressure from an exploded supercharger so as to minimize the damage sustained by the expensive carbon fiber bodies. In the early days when his boss John Force honed his driving skills, a supercharger backfire and no burst panel usually meant a body blown to smithereens.
Hight was at the point of exploding considering his last playoff round victory came during his 2009 championship run. By popping out the burst panel following the loss in Dallas, Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock were able to perform reasonable repairs to their psyche and return for another run with their minds clearly back in the ballgame.
Hight ran a 4.065-second pass at 302.62 miles per hour to beat a tire-smoking Johnny Gray in the Funny Car final round at the Auto Plus NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa.
On anything but a Chamber of Commerce weather weekend, Hight, Prock and the team had the get healthy weekend they’ve needed for quite some time.
“We knew coming in here this was our last chance race,” said Hight, who won four races during the regular season. “If we had another bad showing it would be over because you put yourself in such a hole when you lose first round at the first two races of the Countdown. Then I have that monkey on my back from last year when we didn’t win a single round in the Countdown. We had won four races before that and then in the Countdown to lose eight races in a row in the first round.”
Call it exorcising demons. Call it getting the monkey of their backs. Call it Hight and his crew calling upon the resources available at the juggernaut John Force Racing to get their act together.
“We have been struggling that is no secret,” Hight admitted. “Jimmy has worked so hard and we have to thank Mike Neff and all the teams because we all worked so well together. Mike Neff helped get us back on track. Once Jimmy gets it he has got it. I am looking forward to heading out west to home for the final three. We are back into this deal.”
The victory over Gray kept intact one of the Funny car division’s most impressive winning streaks and a personal milestone. Hight remains undefeated in 2011 final rounds.
Knowing what was at stake in the final round, and understanding the potential of the Gray team, Hight said he and Prock were cautious in their approach during Monday’s final round. This wasn’t exactly an easy proposition for the tuner best known for his homerun swing.
“They threw down some major league numbers this weekend and you can see that that eats at (crew chief) Jimmy Prock,” Hight said. “He wants to be out there running those numbers. We have to keep making baby steps and move forward. We can’t go out there and give it away. If we would have gone out there and pushed to try and run 4.01, something we haven’t done all weekend, we might have been like them and smoked the tires.”
Hight said he felt a difference in the car, one it hasn’t felt in a while, when the championship is on the line.
“It was smooth all day and that is what I am most impressed about,” Hight said. “The last races it has been rattling and shaking. It was unfriendly to drive. Now this thing is smooth as can be and it is fast. There is no way we are going to win this championship if all the JFR Mustangs are not running good. We can’t just have Mike Neff pulling the team and holding us up. We have to be there for him and he has to be there for us. John is back in the game too. They made some real good runs in qualifying and they had some bad luck on Sunday. I believe JFR has a great shot at this.”
And Hight has the teams' emotional burst panel to thank for it.
UNBEATABLE - Jason Line simply could not lose. Against all of the elements, some self-induced, some not, he prevailed.
The pressure of performing for team owner Ken Black, who suffered a stroke prior to last season and made a rare trackside appearance, couldn’t break Line's momentum. Line believes the harder he tries the worse he does.
Persistent rain showers which postponed the completion of the Auto Plus NHRA nationals in Reading, Pa., did little to get a rise out of the Summit-sponsored driver.
In the end, Line scored his sixth 2011 national event victory of the season, reset the national elapsed time record twice, and for all intent and purposes clinched the 2011 series championship.
When you’re living right, you can’t be beat and can’t explain why.
“My guys have done a phenomenal job,” said Line. “This car and I don’t know why, can make a bad run and it is still fast. That’s a nice window to be in and a hard one to get into. I wish we knew more about how we got there. The car is bad to the bone. I didn’t mess it up and it feels awful good.”
How can a driver who has a car capable of running 6.483, 6.477, 6.489 and a 6.484 in the final against teammate Ronnie Humphrey get beat? That’s a good question; one his competition would like answered.
“We could have run a 6.46,” Line admitted. “That was just as close as we could get. They were all good runs. I was surprised by the 6.47 run, that one was on the edge. Very exciting to say the least. This is the second time [in my career] that I’ve qualified No. 1 and set the national record. That’s a hard thing to do. I think there’s a small club who have done this.”
Just last weekend in Dallas, Line won from the No. 1 position. Line has reached the finals of all three Countdown events starting in Charlotte. The final round of that event was the last time he’s lost a round of competition. This kind of success bodes well for Line as he heads to Phoenix, halfway through the final sprint for the championship.
“I feel very happy with the lead,” said Line, who leads teammate and No. 2 in points Greg Anderson by 181 points with only 12 rounds of competition remaining in 2011.
“I don’t like pressure. I’d just as soon go into the last race or two with very little pressure. We held the points lead for pretty much all of the year. I feel like we have had the best car all year and it would be a shame to have led all of those races and not win it at the end of the year. We are peaking at the right time. It’s not over by any means. But I wouldn’t trade positions with anyone else.”
On a banner day for the Summit-sponsored KB racing, they represented three of the four remaining cars in competition during the semi-finals. Humphrey, KB Racing’s equivalent to the fifth Beatle, eliminated previous record hold Rodger Brogdon to advance to his first career final round. Humphrey previously had only advanced past the second round once this season and finished one spot out of the Countdown to 1.
Win, lose or draw, Line was excited to race Humphrey. He was also excited about knocking out defending series champion and teammate Greg Anderson to advance to the finals.
“I felt good about that,” Line said. “Racing him and Ronnie, in my mind, either one of those guys were going to get the record. He certainly went fast enough to get it. I know what they have under the hood. It’s tough because Greg is a tough competitor and I had my best light against him. He’s the champ, but if you want to be the champion you have to beat the champion. We managed to win today. I don’t want to back into anything. I have never seen anyone who wants to win as badly as Greg does. He’s a machine and the guy you have to beat.
“It’s good to see Ronnie do well and it’s been a long season for him. I don’t think things have went as well as he hoped or as we did. We should have gotten him in the top ten and didn’t. It felt very good to be racing him in the final round.”
The next stop on the tour, the NHRA Arizona Nationals, will present temperatures likely in the mid-90s, a 30-plus swing in temperature from Monday’s final two rounds.
“We’ve had a drastic change in the weather from Dallas to Reading,” said Line. “I’ve never won Phoenix and probably not one of my favorite tracks. I want to conquer it and I feel like we have such a good car that we can do it. That’s the next stop and we’ll make the best of it. I’d like to win this thing [championship] going away. I’d like to finish it off and get it done. When you have a car as good as mine if you’re not excited to go to the next race, you are probably comatose.”
I AM ROOKIE, HEAR ME ROAR - The buzz of NHRA drag racing last season was teenager LE Tonglet barging into the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, qualifying at the top of the pack and winning races, virtually coming form nowhere to win the series championship and rookie of the year honors.
But could we see that happen again this year? Maybe, if Hector Arana III has anything to say about it.
He won Monday's rain-delayed final round of the Auto-Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, beating Matt Smith in the quickest side-by-side race in bike-class history. This second victory moved him to second place in the standings, as he sliced leader Eddie Krawiec's margin to just 35 points.
In doing so, he matched Pro Stock rookie of the year candidate Vincent Nobile with two victories -- though Arana's have come in fewer chances with a limited Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule. He strengthened his bid for the Auto Club of Southern California's Road to the Future Award that will be announced in November at the post-season awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
What mattered most in the cold, dank afternoon in the Pennsylvania countryside was beating Matt Smith to the finish line in front of virtually empty grandstands.
Arana III did it on his Lucas Oil Buell with a 6.781-second elapsed time at 195.82 mph to Smith's 6.795, 194.24 mph. The Milltown, Ind., newcomer had a .038-second reaction time to Smith's .064.
His winning pass was the quickest so far in his young career.
“The weather was there. We found the problem that we had [an electrical problem] and we fixed it for the final two runs. We found it in E2, and when we made the adjustment, it showed. When we got to the finals, we were able to do a tune-up. We were able to apply it.”
What gave Arana special satisfaction was the fact he turned his fifth No. 1 start into a victory.
"We have a lot of momentum right now," he said. "My runs have been improving, and we plan to keep this streak going. This should help me for the rookie-of-the-year award and give me a good chance for the championship. I finally got to qualify No. 1 and win the race. I finally was able to qualify No. 1 and win the race. We put two and two together. That’s something I’ve been trying to do all year long.
"The bike has a lot of momentum. It’s been really consistent, especially in the 60-foot times. We’ve just kept improving and we are doing good. We are on a streak and plan to keep it going all the way until next year. We don’t plan to end the streak," Arana said. "I think this is going to help me for Rookie of the Year. We have a really good chance of getting the championship.”
He advanced past Bailey Whitaker, Chip Ellis, and three-time champion Andrew Hines to set up a sort of grudge match with Smith, who last week complained publicly (through television station ESPN2) that Arana didn't wait for him in Dallas when he had mechanical trouble at the starting line.
"We wanted to beat Matt, no question," Arana said. "I waited on him (in Dallas) until Rick (NHRA official starter Stewart) told me to stage. He's the one running the show up there, so you listen to what he says. There's too much on the line right now to mess around and get DQ'ed."
Arana didn’t dwell on that incident, preferring to focus on what's ahead of him.
"Most of all," he said, "we wanted to win another race. We're in a tight battle with Vincent (Nobile) for the rookie-of-the-year deal, and now we both have two wins. So it's going to come down to these last three events. In my mind, it's tied up. So may the best man win down the stretch. I hope it's us, but if he gets it then I'll be the first one to shake his hand."
He said his entire Lucas Oil team seemed at ease throughout the weekend: "If it wasn’t for my team, I couldn’t do this. We are just relaxed and made a few changes to the bike."
Arana said he kept calm and concentrated by not fretting about his opponents.
“I just don't think about it. I just stay relaxed and don’t think about who I am racing," he said. "When I raced Chip, I didn’t even know I was running him until I got to the staging lanes. I just don't think about it. I only worry about making my run in my lane, hitting my shift points ,and doing my thing."
His "thing" is working incredibly well right now, as the series heads to Chandler, Ariz., near Phoenix, in less than two weeks for the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.
SUNDAY QUICK HITS: RACE REPORTING IN RAPID FASHION
TOP FUEL
ROUND ONE
DON’T COUNT THEM OUT YET - Del Worsham, who hadn't reached the semifinals yet in the Countdown and saw his season-long points lead vanish, re-established himself in style as a championship threat in beating Shawn Langdon in the opening round. He 
erased Antron Brown's low elapsed time of the meet and grabbed the provisional national record with his 3.760-second pass in the Al-Anabi / Toyota Dragster. He said afterward that while he wanted those 20 bonus points, he wasn't certain the time -- the second-quickest in NHRA Top Fuel history -- would remain today's best.
That marked the third time in less than 24 hours that the potential E.T. record has changed hands. Larry Dixon, Worsham's Al-Anabi / Toyota teammate, set low E.T. in the final qualifying session Saturday and had it for about 90 seconds before Antron Brown swiped it with his top-qualifying 3.766-second performance.
Three of the first four winners came from the bottom half of the ladder.
One of them, Clay Millican, the six-time International Hot Rod Association champion, earned the first round-win of his limited season in the Parts Plus Dragster. Dallas winner Bob Vandergriff, a non-Countdown driver, eliminated Doug Kalitta. In a match-up of Countdown participants, Dave Grubnic, the No. 9 qualifier, defeated No. 8 Morgan Lucas for the other official upset.
Worsham, Vandergriff, and Tony Schumacher posted first-round E.T.s that were better than their qualifying times.
Tony Schumacher's victory over Brandon Bernstein (who was making a noble comeback in the Copart Dragster after his nasty accident in the early Saturday qualifying session) set up a meeting with Don Schumacher Racing mate Spencer Massey. Schumacher is 1-4 against Massey since Atlanta, and one of those three defeats came in the final round at Denver.
The lanes were even, each producing four winners.
QUARTER-FINALS
COUNTDOWN CALAMITY FOR BROWN - After lower-ranked Countdown driver Dave Grubnic pulled off his second upset of the day, knocking off top qualifier Antron Brown with a 3.824-second blast at 315.19 mph, boss Connie Kalitta said, "That was a good shot. We're lucky, but we'll take it!" And Grubnic breathed a sigh of relief -- not because he had beaten the formidable Brown and his Matco Tools Dragster but more so because he darn near clicked off the motor too early. "Thank Christ I didn't," Grubnic said. Announcer Alan Rinehart asked him how he would have justified such a mistake to Kalitta. Grubnic replied that he would have told his team owner, "I didn't blow the motor up."
Brown, though frustrated he wouldn't advance and have a chance to reclaim that low E.T. of the meet from Worsham for a national record, was pragmatic after the loss. "This is drag racing. You can't let it knock you down too much," he said. "That Matco car was on a heck of a run. It was a freak deal. I felt it backfire. We'll suck it up. We're looking forward to going to Phoenix."
Racers get a weekend off before the Countdown resumes for the final three races -- at Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Pomona, Calif.
Larry Dixon reached the semifinals for the fourth time in five races with his close side-by-side victory over Bob Vandergriff. Dixon drove the Al-Anabi / Toyota Dragster to a 3.786-second, 323.43-mph victory to end Vandergriff's modest but momentous streak at five rounds.
Spencer Massey said he has wanted to be a Top Fuel dragster driver since he was four years old. Little did he know he would be beating Tony Schumacher, who became a seven-time champion, on a regular basis -- as his teammate, no less. "That's it -- I dreamed about it," Massey said. "We're really doing awesome." He said "it's crazy" the way the Don Schumacher cars are performing and quickly added, "I'm glad I'm the one who's going from A to B." He ran a 3.778-second E.T. at 324.90 mph (which was best of the outstanding round) to top Schumacher's 3.883, 321.50. Antron Brown's upset loss to Dave Grubnic played to Massey's favor in the standings, but Massey downplayed that. "I want to go out and let the points fall where they fall," the FRAM Dragster driver said.
Del Worsham closed the round by recording the third-quickest run in Top Fuel history, another 3.76-second pass. This one -- 3.764 at 322.65 mph -- was an easier one, a Millican had trouble early in the match-up. Brown had taken away Worsham's longtime points lead at Charlotte, and Massey did the same to Brown at Dallas.
And he said he understood what Brown was going through with the DSR driver's elimination. "I feel his pain," Worsham said. But it's every man for himself right now, with just three races to go before the NHRA crowns a Top Fuel champion.
"This is all business now," Worsham said. "I told everybody this [title chase] is going to go down to Pomona, and I still believe that."
SEMI-FINALS
MASSEY VERSUS WORSHAM - Spencer Massey will go to his third straight final round. True to his reputation as a strong leaver, he got the jump on Larry Dixon and took the FRAM Dragster to a 3.773-second, 322.11-mph victory. Massey's times have improved with each elimination round, not that the slowest elapsed time -- a 3.783 -- isn't enviable.
With his 3.777-second victory (at 321.96 mph) over Dave Grubnic, Del Worsham gave up lane choice to Massey in the final round. But he no doubt is more thrilled to have another opportunity to win for the first time since the August race at Seattle and show his strength once again. Grubnic wasn't able to pull the upset for a third consecutive round. He ran a 3.830, 313.80.
The final will be a battle between the nearly season-long points leader and the current leader.
FINAL
TWENTY, TWENTY VISION – Spencer Massey might have gotten the round win, but in losing Del Worsham walked away with the equivalent of a round win with a new national record and the accompanying 20 point reward.
Massey ran a 3.770, 323 with a .05 advantage on the starting line to repel Worsham’s 3.735, 323.12 monstrous effort.
FUNNY CAR
ROUND ONE
DOWN GOES FORCE - Lightning can strike twice in the same place, just ask John Force. Force was one of five Countdown finalists to lose in the first round. Dale Creasy Jr., the consummate underdog bit Force in the first round of eliminations here. Last 
season it was mechanical failures which did the 15-time champion in. This time the avid match racer Creasy navigated the track better.
“I kept waiting on John to come around me fast,” said Creasy, who advanced to the second round on the strength of a 4.452, 235 run. “But he didn’t so I guess the match race stuff has helped me out. Those guys [John Force Racing] help me so much that I feel a bit bad about it. But I am happy for my team.”
Said Force, “I'm not OK. Creasy's got my number here. That's twice now. The left lane bit me, bit (Cruz) Pedregon, bit Beckman. I don't know what's going on."
The Funny Cars experienced their coolest track temperature of the weekend at 66-degrees with a 50-degree air temp.
Winning his first Countdown round win in two years was Robert Hight, who fast-tracked his way to a 4.041, 317.40 to not only beat Ron Capps but also score lane choice over nearly christened point leader Matt Hagan. Hagan had an easy round as he took out rookie Blake Alexander.
No. 2 in points Mike Neff was second quickest of the winners with a 4.078 elapsed time to beat Jim Head’s 4.109 in the closest run of the first round.
Jeff Arend ran a 4.165 to eliminate Cruz Pedregon, who switched to his white Snap-on body from the red one he used in qualifying.
Two-time series champion Tony Pedregon took out No. 10 in the points Tim Wilkerson with a 4.164 while Bob Tasca III took out Jack Beckman.
No. 1 qualifier Johnny Gray slipped and slid his way to a victory over first-time Full Throttle Funny Car racer Leah Pruett.
QUARTER-FINALS
IT SHOULDN’T LOOK LIKE THIS ON PAPER - Thus far the bottom half qualifiers have flexed the muscles the greatest in Funny Car eliminations. Only one top half qualifier advanced to the final four of Reading and ironically this was the No. 1 qualifier Johnny Gray, who failed to make the playoffs this season.
Gray won the second round by popping, banging and blowing up with a 4.578, 197.68 to eliminate No. 2 in points Mike Neff. Gray beats Neff who goes up in smoke. One round earlier he needed a 4.31 to beat Leah Pruett.
“I got back on and off of the gas,” said Gray, as he described the run where the car flamed up during the run. “I kept going because I didn’t know where he [Neff] was.”
Hight, who realistically is eliminated from playoff contention, kept his slim chances alive by taking out point leader Matt Hagan with a 4.096, 314.02, the quickest of the round.
“That was the biggest run of our season,” said Hight. “We had to have this [round] win. Otherwise it was going to be over for us. We put ourselves in a big hole.”
Countdown runners Jeff Arend [4.190, to beat Dale Creasy Jr.] and Bob Tasca III [4.146, 299.20] continue to scrap their way back into championship contention.
Twice during the day, Funny Car racers publicly stated they needed windshield wipers, and shortly after the class completed this round, racing action stopped for a weather delay.
SEMI-FINALS
BACK ON TRACK TIMES 2 - Johnny Gray swaggered himself into his third final round of the season by getting the best of Bob Tasca III. Gray, who started Sunday’s eliminations from the No. 1 spot, finally found his eliminations groove with a 4.022-second run at 310.55. Tasca’s engine gave up the ghost and a 10 point oildown penalty as well in a losing effort.
For someone who hadn’t won a round in the Countdown, Robert Hight made up for lost time with his third round win, cranking out a 4.053, 314.53 to beat Jeff Arend’s 4.112, 316.01.
FINAL
ABOUT TIME – Robert Hight completed a get well weekend his team has needed for nearly two years. Hight, who hadn’t won a playoff round all year, strung together four impressive victories to score his fifth national event victory this season.
Hight ran a 4.065, 302.62 to beat an up-in-smoke Johnny Gray.
The victory keeps Hight’s perfect final round record this season intact.
PRO STOCK
ROUND ONE
SUPER BAD - With the race conditions clearly defined as mineshaft, Jason Line found gold in the first round where he beat Bob Benza with the quickest Pro Stock run in drag racing history.
Line posted a 6.483, 212.23 to overtake the world record established by Rodger Brogdon back in March at Gainesville. His No. 1 qualifying effort of 6.513 seconds was within the NHRA’s required .01 back up. Probably the most excited onlooker was Ken Black, who suffered a severe stroke prior to the 2010 season and been limited in his attendance of events since.
“The car went to the left and vibrated a little bit,” explained Line. “I probably tugged it a little to get down the track. I hope it holds up but my teammate can go just as fast, if not faster. It was good to get this done with Ken Black here.”
KB Racing had the second two quickest winning laps with Greg Anderson [6.509, 212.46] beating Allen Johnson and Ronnie Humphrey [6.532, 211.63] beating Vincent Nobile, who lost power and coasted through the lights.
Unlike last event where the Countdown finalists fell like flies, only two lost in the first round. In addition to Nobile, Greg Stanfield scored his sixth holeshot victory of the year to beat Ron Krisher.
Rodger Brogdon [6.542] beat V. Gaines and Erica Enders [6.559] got the best of Shane Gray to lead engine builder Victor Cagnazzi’s two-car charge into the second round.
Larry Morgan, the only Ford to qualify in the class this weekend, kept Warren Johnson winless in the first round with a 6.560, 211.26.
In arguably the ugliest round win of the day, Mike Edwards sputtered, spun the tires and shook his way to a 10.454 to cool down a red-hot Kurt Johnson.
QUARTER-FINALS
RECORD FALLS AGAIN - Professional eliminations resumed on Monday with Pro Stock car.
The Pro Stock division followed a round of Top Alcohol Dragster eliminations where at least two of the winners dipped into the 5.2-second range.
The Jason Line express thundered through in a scene reminiscent of the Reading Railroad. Line gathered the quickest NHRA-legal Pro Stock run in history with a 6.477, 212.49 to repel a weekend best 6.521 from Enders.
Line will have lane choice against teammate Greg Anderson in the semi-finals, who used an overkill 6.508 to beat a red-lighting Greg Stanfield.
Rodger Brogdon came up big in his race against Mike Edwards, as he won on both ends of the track. The Edge-sponsored Brogdon carried .02 past the tree and legged his way to a 6.534, 211.56 victory to beat out Edwards’ 6.587. The loss puts a serious crimp in the third ranked Edwards’ championship hopes.
Ronnie Humphrey, enjoying his best weekend of the season, used a 6.521 to beat Larry Morgan who missed the combination and lifted early.
SEMI-FINALS
BETTER BRING YOUR A+ GAME - If you didn’t have a 6.4-second run in your arsenal, you weren’t going to make it past the third round.
The Jason Line bullet train continued its run towards another championship by lighting up the scoreboard with a 6.482, 212.19 to beat out Greg Anderson’s respectable 6.500, 213.30 effort.
Ronnie Humphrey, whose career best finish up to this point was a semi-final finish, added two career firsts to his resume with a 6.489; his first time into the 6.4-second range, and a win over Rodger Brogdon.
FINAL
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
ROUND ONE
ORNERY ANIMALS PREVAIL - Angie Smith registered the quickest elapsed time in the first four pairings, a 6.863-second effort -- but lost. Jerry Savoie used a perfect reaction time (.000 seconds) to beat her on a holeshot with a 6.971-second pass on his White Alligator Racing Suzuki. "We're real jacked up," Savoie said. "Man, to get a perfect light . . . It's all good."
Kuryakin Buell rider Chip Ellis followed with a perfect light, too, and the No. 9 qualifier went on to knock off No. 8 Karen Stoffer and the Geico Suzuki. Stoffer, trusting her favorite motor, "Maverick," after ruining an engine in Saturday's final session, had said Maverick is "old faithful." She said, "It's got a bazillion runs, and we're hoping for a bazillion and four." She has to settle for a bazillion and one until the Phoenix race when the Full Throttle Series Countdown heads west again.
Matt Smith looked like he might join his wife on the sidelines, as his motor once again had trouble firing, like it did twice in Dallas. But Jim Underdahl, who had toasted a motor earlier in the weekend, went silent right off the starting line. Smith sailed on down the left lane to a 6.975-second, 190.70-mph victory. "Something broke in the clutch in the burnout. I had to shut it off," Smith said, explaining his starting-line problems. "We just got lucky."
Steve Johnson couldn't capitalize on his best qualifying start of the season (No. 5). He fouled out with a red light (by .069 of a second), and a split-second later his Suzuki broke. Johnson, the disappointment evident in his body language, walked over and jumped the fence by the tower on the way back to his pit. His misfortune gave another chance to Dallas winner Michel Phillips, who turned in a 6.918-second, 195.93-mph performance and said after getting off The Edge Suzuki that he'll be gunning for a time in the low (6.)80s in the next round.
Hector Arana III took the first step toward making good on his promise not to lose in the opening round after qualifying No. 1. He beat Bailey Whitaker, running a 6.824-second E.T. -- one of only three 6.8s in the round.
Arana's father wasn't as fortunate on the twin Lucas Oil Buell. His bike gave out on him, and Matt Guidera took advantage of that to record his first round-win since this event at Maple Grove Raceway in 2009. The elder Arana was No. 3 qualifier. It was a keen disappointment to Arana, who had said Saturday night, "I feel that all those gremlins, all those things are gone (form his motorcycle). I put the Gremlin Bell on this bike, and she's come around. I'm pleased. I know there's maybe a little more left in there. Four more runs! I don't know how many runs Hector wants, but I'm going for four."
Eddie Krawiec ran low E.T. of the round at 6.819 seconds to erase the track record Hector Arana III established in qualifying No. 1. The Screamin' Eagle / Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider registered a 196.22 that was fastest of the round, too, until his teammate, Andrew Hines came along and put a 197.33-mph speed up on the scoreboard in defeating LE Tonglet. Hines beat Tonglet in the final round here last year.
QUARTER-FINALS
THE EAGLE SCREAMS TODAY - Andrew Hines upped the ante with a 6.794, 196.22 to drive around the 6.857 belted out by Michael Phillips. Phillips’ .02 starting line advantage was bridged by the 330-foot mark.
Hector Arana Jr. was the closest in terms of performance to Hines, with a 6.844, 193.10 to run away from Chip Ellis’ 6.974.
Matt Smith was third quickest with a solo 6.874, 192.91 when Matt Guidera was a no-show.
Gerry Savoie scored a victory in the war of the critters by knocking off Eddie Krawiec, who had problems early and lifted. Savoie won with the slowest winning run of the round, a 6.949.
SEMI-FINALS
A REMATCH OF THE WORD-SLINGERS - A week after his bike couldn’t start, Matt Smith could barely slow it down after becoming just the second rider since the Gainesville event to dip into the 6.7-second zone as he used a 6.795, 193.77 to beat a red-lighting Jerry Savoie.
Hector Arana Jr. beat Andrew Hines but lost lane choice despite a potent 6.813, 195.68 to beat Andrew Hines, who fell from his torrid pace with a 6.94.
FINAL
THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR? - The momentum in voting for the Rookie of the Year might have effectively swung in another direction with Hector Arana III's latest victory. The second-generation Pro Stock bike rider scored another victory with a 6.781, 195.81 which was more than Smith's 6.795, 194.24 could chase down.
Arana was .026 better off of the starting line.
SATURDAY - A TOUGH DAY FOR NITRO RACING
IT'S THE SWAGGER, BABY! - Johnny Gray is doing his best to become fully acclimated with having a top qualifying Funny Car in his return to nitro racing after a stint in Pro Stock. If he'd known just a little more about the feel of the cars earlier in the season, drag racing’s jack-of-
all-trades driver would have clearly known the quiver he felt in his Service Central-sponsored Funny Car was actually a swagger.
A swagger which showed itself Saturday at Maple Grove.
Gray thundered his Dodge Charger, sporting the colors of Alex’s Lemonade Stand charity, to a 4.010, 318.62 to snag the No. 1 qualifying position at the Auto Plus NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa. This is the first career top qualifier for Gray in the Funny Car division.
“The car has run a 4.02 and a 4.03 and it’s had a little quiver in the transition,” Gray said. “My guys told me if we could get the quiver out of it, she would go. They took a shot at it, the track is good and the air is awesome, some of the guys were getting down and some weren’t. They just gave me a hot rod and I just sat in it and hit it.”
Just sitting in it and hitting it hasn’t always been an easy proposition for Gray this year as he endured three DNQ’s, seven first round losses and a crew chief change during the regular season.
At the onset of the Western Swing, Rob Wendland replaced Lee Beard as the team’s primary tuner and with input from fellow Don Schumacher Racing tuners, Gray and his team began to scratch the surface of the potential heaped upon them in the preseason. A win at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., provided the team a measure of confidence which had been sorely missing. Past championship tuner Dickie Venables was brought in as added insurance.
“The car’s running good, the guys are having a good time, it’s not like our car went out and made one stupid run today and ran real fast,” Gray said.
In actuality, Gray’s car ran stupid fast throughout qualifying with a 4.023, 4.034 and the 4.010. The only bad run for Gray was an early shut-off pass in the opening session. In taking the top spot away from John Force, Gray believes he did his part in keeping the three bonus points away from a rival operation. Gray finished the regular season in 11th and outside of championship contention.
“We just handed one of the other DSR cars three points,” Gray said. “That’s our role here, to go out and take away points from the other teams and hopefully we won’t cross paths with a fellow DSR car or we’ll have to try and beat them too. As a team player, I’d like to see a DSR car win the championship. We’ll play the game hard and try to keep everyone off of the DSR cars.”
He’ll use his swagger, not to be confused with a quiver, to make it happen.
Gray will race No. 16 qualifier Leah Pruett in Sunday’s first round.
THAT FUNKY LITTLE WIGGLE - He knew it when he felt the "little funky wiggle."
Antron Brown knew his Matco Tools Dragster was on some out-of-orbit pass on Maple Grove Raceway's 1,000-foot course Saturday.
His instincts were spot-on. The Don Schumacher Racing driver ended up with a 3.766-second elapsed time that's the second-quickest in NHRA Top Fuel history.
With his 3.797-second blast Friday that gave him the provisional lead overnight for the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals, Brown automatically had a back-up for the national E.T. record that will rake in another 20 bonus points if it holds through Sunday's eliminations.
It also assured him his third No. 1 qualifying position of the season and third in the past six races. But what makes the achievement all the more stunning is that he took that honor away from Larry Dixon immediately following the Al-Anabi Dragster driver's 3.769-second run that's third-best of all time.
Cory McClenathan owns the quickest pass, his 3.752-second E.T. from the 2010 SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J. Ironically, that's the same car that Spencer Massey twice (including Saturday) has driven to a 3.771, a time that's tied with two of Tony Schumacher's performances for fifth best in the class. (Massey did it here and at Charlotte in September, and Schumacher did it at Charlotte this fall and at Richmond in 2008.)
Brown, who had to sit and watch the contenders before him crank out eye-popping numbers one after another, knew right away he was in for a ride that definitely would keep him in the hunt.
"I felt the car go through a little funky wiggle. And once it came through the funky wiggle, it -- took -- off!" Brown said. "I mean, it was like I hit a button and I went to warp drive
"When I did it, the car pushed me back, and I said, 'Oh!! Here we go!" he exclaimed, his voice rising as he re-enacted the thrill.
"Once I got through the transition, the car started sashaying. I was sayin', 'C'mon, baby, let's stay straight - stay straight! Don't scrub the speed. Don't scrub the speed!' She scrubbed some off the big end, but it was still good enough to hold on and get that E.T. record," he said.
His 325.30-mph speed was enviable, but Del Worsham seized the no-points-added but still prestigious track speed mark at 327.90 mph. No. 6 Tony Schumacher also posted a 325.53 in the U.S. Army Dragster. "We know what's out there," Brown said.
For that reason, he said, "It feels good to have it (the record and its accompanying points) in our corner, but we're not done yet. We're looking good right now. We want to work hard tomorrow. Tat's our goal right now.
"This points race is tight -- very, very tight. You have to stay poised," Brown said. "You have to be really strategic right now about what you do and how you do it." Whether to gun for big numbers down the Countdown stretch or simply run a package calculated simply to be best of the round, round after round, is like "a thin line between love and hate."
But he allowed himself a few moments to savor the feat that crew chiefs Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi set up at this storied racetrack near Reading, Pa.
"It feels awesome," Brown said. "Funny Car's been doing it for awhile now (running other-wordly numbers), but the dragsters have been kind of babying it. A lot of people don't understand the difference to go from a mid-3.80 to a 3.70 -- it's a huge difference. You've got that car going three times as fast to get there. When you get it done you've really accomplished a feat., because you have to have everything in the world to make it happen."
The Chesterfield, N.J., native, who lives in the Indianapolis suburb of Brownsburg, counts this as one of his "home tracks," just like Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown, N.J. And he said he climbed from his dragster and heard the crowd -- his crowd -- screaming.
"Check that out!" Brown squealed with delight. "What are they screaming about?"
Someone at the top end told him, "They're screaming about you."
Said Brown, "That's a pretty awesome feeling."
So is winning, something Brown has done six times in seven final rounds this year. And he naturally wants to do it again Sunday, when he starts his quest against IHRA champion Bruce Litton.
"If you do, it can set a precedent going into the last three races," he said.
And if he does, the drag-racing world might see Antron Brown -- and maybe his entire team -- do that new dance, "The Little Funky Wiggle."
THE STREAK CONTINUES - Five consecutive No. 1 qualifiers and you’d think the driver would say he’s got a good handle on his car. When it comes to Jason Line one thing remains certain – he’s going to be uncertain.
“It would appear that we do [have the car figured out],” said Line, who ran a 6.513, 211.30 in the third qualifying session at the Auto Plus NHRA Nationals hosted by Maple Grove Raceway to secure the number one spot.
“By listening to us in the pit area you wouldn’t think that. We come back every time and pick it apart only to wonder how it ran as well as it did. It’s exciting for us.”
Indecision or not, who couldn’t get excited about five consecutive No. qualifiers? This is exactly what the past series champion and current point leader has done, dating back to August at the event in Brainerd, Minn. On the second day of qualifying in Reading, Line was consistently dominant by backing up the first run with a 6.517 to secure six bonus points.
The indecision Line refers to might just be much ado about nothing, as Line and his KB Racing teammates Ronnie Humphrey and Greg Anderson accounted for three of the top four qualifying positions.
And, for Line, this comes as a major milestone when three cars can run within thousandths of one another run after run. In Friday’s qualifying, Line and Anderson ran identical elapsed times.
“We’ve done that three or four times this season and I am pretty proud of the fact we can do that,” Line said. “When you can get two cars to do that consistently, that’s a heck of a challenge. I am proud of that accomplishment.”
Line’s focus has now turned towards Sunday’s eliminations where he believes he has a car capable of running the table again. Last weekend in Dallas, he won from the No. 1 spot for the first time in 2011.
Just because he hasn’t figured out every nuance of his Pontiac doesn’t mean Line is unaware of just how good the car is. He’s very much aware his Pontiac GXP body is running on borrowed time with the NHRA in terms of an age rule. The chassis underneath is another story.
“I was joking with the guys that when GM does decide to come back and bring out a Camaro or Cadillac, we’re going to have to re-skin our chassis,” Line said. “Right now, it’s awesome and I am lucky to be driving it. Hopefully we can turn this into another win tomorrow.”
Line faces No. 16 qualifier Bob Benza in the first round.
OF FOUR LEAF CLOVERS AND NO. 1 QUALIFIERS - Hector Arana III was at Larry Morgan's race shop, listening to the Pro Stock driver -- his "engine whisperer" -- help him straighten out a problem with the Lucas Oil Buell bike.
Morgan gave him "Gracie," the splendid motor that's named for Arana's mother, Grace, and has carried him to most of his finest moments in his rookie-of-the-year run. ("It's a lucky motor, I guess," he said.)
Although the Pro Stock Motorcycle newcomer trusts Morgan's mechanical know-how, he happily took a four-leaf clover from a friend there that day in Newark, Ohio. Arana has taped that good-luck charm to his bike ever since, and with Saturday's track-record 6.824-second pass on the Maple Grove Raceway quarter-mile, the 22-year-old will lead the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals field.
He replaced Friday leader Eddie Krawiec, whose 197.97-mph performance from Friday remains the speed record at the fabled facility near Reading, Pa.
"No. 1 qualifiers don't get Wallys on race day," No. 2 Krawiec said. "I want to get points."
Arana, with his fifth overall and second straight No. 1 start, knows all about that distinction and the fact it guarantees nothing (or, in Funny Car racer Matt Hagan's words, "has some bad ju ju").
In his previous four top positions, Arana never has won. His best finish from a No. 1 start was last weekend at Dallas, as he was runner-up to Michael Phillips. At Norwalk, he exited in the first round, and at both Chicago and Sonoma, he lost in the quarterfinals.
But he said he's ready to reverse that.
"This weekend we're going to seal the deal," Arana, of Milltown, Ind., said. "We're going to get the Wally this weekend."
His first opponent Sunday in eliminations will be Bailey Whitaker.
Arana said the latest problem that has prevented him from performing even better was a "cam sensor that was going bad. That was throwing our timing off.
"In Q2 this weekend, when I about went over the handlebars, that was what happened again. It completely lost signal. But we took it to Larry Morgan's and welded it. It'll no longer come loose. We got that problem fixed," he said.
Arana gained three spots in Saturday's first and the event's third overall qualifying session with his track-record elapsed time of 6.824 seconds at 195.48 mph.
The forecasted rain stayed away, and Arana said, "The weather got better, but the barometric pressure has not gone up. So that is the reason we've not been able to run the big mile-an-hour numbers. The barometric pressure will force the air into our engine, which allows us to run quicker."
BERNSTEIN UNINJURED IN ACCIDENT - Brandon Bernstein was shaken but unhurt after losing the left rear
tire from his Copart Dragster during Saturday afternoon qualifying for the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa. He walked to a waiting ambulance on his own and met with emergency medical personnel.Bernstein, running in the left lane alongside Doug Kalitta, crossed the center line behind Kalitta and was able to stop the wounded dragster after tapping the right-side wall with the front wing. He had to maneuver the car away from trouble without the help of a complete rear wing, for some of it sheared off with the blown tire.
"I tried to keep it out of the way of Doug and tried to keep it off the wall as much as I could," Bernstein said after he was evaluated and released."
His take on the crash, which mimicked the one he had at Atlanta, was that he "felt right as I lifted and it had the 'chutes out, that's when it all went wrong. I had the same thing happen in Atlanta, same deal. Right as I stepped off the throttle, it blew the tire in Atlanta."
Referring to the safety shutoff system instituted in 2010, Bernstein said, "I think that's what saved me -- that and the fact the while wing didn't go. When the whole wing goes, you're just off for the ride."
While Safety Safari and Goodyear representatives gathered as many pieces of the blown tire as they could to reconstruct it and study it, Bernstein headed right away to his pit to help crew chiefs Donnie Bender and Todd Smith examine the chassis.
"This Copart team is resilient," the Brownsburg, Ind.-based racer said. "We'll get back to it. Hopefully we can get this thing repaired and be ready to race." - Gary Nastase photos
However, like McMillen, his elapsed time was better than his best Friday run. The unhappy news is that like McMillen, Lucas had the run disqualified because he oiled down the racetrack. And the two were at the bottom of the pack with one more chance to make the field, McMillen at 18th and Lucas 19th.
McMillen failed to qualify, despite a heroic effort from Richard Hartman and Austin Lambright and the crew to send him out for the fourth session. So unlike McMillen, Lucas leaped to the top half of the field, at No. 8, with a 3.814, 319.67 in his last try.
NEWCOMER PERFORMS WELL - Blake Alexander is 23 years old and he's way over pretending -- well, for the most part. The Wi
rtz, Va., racer said he regarded his maiden run in Paul Smith's 2010 Monte Carlo as "just doing another test lap." He said, "I wasn't going to think about any of the other stuff." He really was able to shrug off that "other stuff," such as rookie butterflies and being awestruck at running in an NHRA Full Throttle race, and landed the No. 13 position right away through Saturday's third session. It helps that he's in a proven car, the one that Jon Capps took to the semifinal at Dallas last weekend.
"This weekend, our goal is to put on a good show for Auto-Plus and put on a good show for the fans," Alexander, who earned his license just this past Monday at the Texas Motorplex, said. He said he plans to sit down and visit with sponsors after this weekend.
He'll also be changing mental gears, preparing to drive Larry Miersch's Top Alcohol Dragster with primary backing from Exide Batteries, at the Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His plan is to close the season in that Exide Top Alcohol Dragster at the Auto Club Finals at Pomona.
Here at Maple Grove Raceway, Alexander recorded a first pass of 4.193 seconds , 298.21 mph.
"We're not holding anything back on Saturday," he said securing a spot on the grid at No. 14. "We want to do more than just get in the field."
He'll have to save his blockbuster effort for the first round of eliminations, when he meets No. 3 Matt Hagan.
"I'm trying to still have fun," Alexander said. "I'm 23. I'm driving a fuel Funny Car. And I'm definitely enjoying it."
He plans to continue a little Comp Eliminator racing, as well. "I'm not driving one car but three this year. I'm driving three, but I think I can get in any car and drive it. And I'm having fun."
JUST ONE RACE - Leah Pruett isn't wearing a sandwich board with the message, but she's delivering it loud and clear. As she slipped into the seat of Melanie Troxel's Pro Car Rx 
Toyota for this event only, Pruett said, "This is her car. This her team." She said R2B2 team owner Roger Burgess had planned all along to put her in that car for at least one race this season. "It came up on us fast," Pruett said, and emphasized that she and Troxel are on the same page. "Melanie and I are absolutely fine. She's very supportive. Everybody's on board with it."
A couple of tire-smoking runs Friday and an early Saturday pass with troubles right off the starting line left her with only one chance to make the field. She ran a 4.644-second pass at 212.43 mph in the final session and had to wait a few pairings to find out if it was good enough. It was.
"It's official! This Pro Car Rx Funny Car is going to race on Sunday," she said after nabbing the bump spot. "You dream of that, and it's one dream at a time," she said.
Her next challenge will be Johnny Gray, her first-round opponent Sunday.
She echoed Burgess in saying, "We just want to get some attention and let people know we have two Funny Car drivers at R2B2. The goal for next year is to come out with two Funny Cars."
A misbehaving air line cost her on her first attempt Friday. Then she experienced tire shake and said she wanted to try to drive through it but thought better of it. She said that before the run, "I told myself, 'Pedal it if you need to.' I didn't get after it. I don’t have 50 runs like some of the other people do. I'm taking this the way I know how to drive.
"Yeah, maybe I should've pedaled it to get a quicker number," Pruett said. "But the bump at that time was 4.52 and I don't know if I would've run that if I had pedaled at that point in the track. I'm still learning. I'm happily learning."
Pruett said she found out only a couple of days before the event began that she would step into the car with the Pro Car Rx Toyota body this weekend. But she said it's "capable of qualifying very well, going rounds, and winning the race."
“We spotted Jason a little too much early, but we have a car here,” said Edwards, who ran a 6.528 to qualify third. “We might need a little help from Jason, but we are just going to do the best we can.”
Edward’s races the red-hot Kurt Johnson in the first round but is on the opposite side of the ladder from Line and his teammate Greg Anderson.
“We’re stinking the place up,” Johnson said after qualifying 13th. “On the first run today, we broke a motor. We’re just dog slow and trying to figure out this new car.”
“That’s a step in the right direction,” Hines said. “We haven’t been able to put the full package together lately with my V-Rod. We got closer on that run. The first run [today] we blew through the clutch and underestimated the track but we got all of it that time.”
Hines said his bike drifted towards the wall in the left lane and this might have scrubbed .01 off of it.
“At about 1000 feet on, it looked like I hit a ski jump,” Hines admitted.
WORKING JUST FINE NOW - Kurt Johnson is investing in his future by performing well in the Countdown to 1.
Johnson, of Duluth, Ga., is currently tied with Pro Stock point leader Jason Line for the most round wins during the championship phase of the season at seven. There’s a huge difference in their stories of success.
Line is gaining points towards a championship. Johnson isn’t.
“It takes money to run this thing and that’s what we’re going to be looking for this winter,” Johnson told ESPN3.com. “We want to go into winter with a blast.”
Johnson is performing better than ever in the last three with a new Pontiac GXP which reminds him of the 2003 Cobalt he used to campaign, a car so dependable he claims would make a run “down a dirt road.”
The biggest challenge for Johnson has been in balancing out the weight on the car.
“We just haven’t figured out where to put the ballast, we have 60 more pounds of ballast and haven’t figured out where to put it yet,” Johnson said. “You have to balance the weight, the clutch, the shocks, the four-link … it’s not just one thing.”
Johnson confirmed this car is totally different than those he’s run in the last few seasons and took some time early to sort out.
“I think we have it now,” Johnson said.
FRIDAY - TEMPERATURES DROP, TRACK RECORDS FALL ON FAST FRIDAY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOVE DAD - Matt Hagan had to do something to make up for his absence.
In the end, his success didn’t completely make up for not being home for his daughter Penny Louise’s second birthday. But then again, how many two year olds get a Happy Birthday wish over national television from their dad?
Hagan’s 4.012 elapsed time at 316.67 mph, during Friday evening qualifying at the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa., afforded him the opportunity to send out his love to his daughter on her special day.
“I wanted to do enough to get my face on the camera,” said Hagan, who pulled into an unofficial tie with Mike Neff by securing six bonus points cumulative for the day.
“You can never make up for those times you are away and I figured if I had to be away, I had to do something really good to make her proud. I was just proud being able to say happy birthday to my wonderful little girl.”
No disrespect to Hagan’s intentions, but it’s not like the first Funny Car driver into the three second zone during the 1,000-foot era, is a novice when it comes to running quick at Maple Grove. Last year Hagan established a new elapsed time record at the facility, located outside of Reading, with a 4.01 and topped it off with a victory and the point lead.
Crew chief Tommy DeLago’s mannerisms told Hagan all he needed to know before the car fired Friday night. It’s in these kinds of conditions, when the adjusted altitude hovers at sea level Hagan’s tuner elects to let the horsepower do the talking for him.
“Tommy does really well in cool conditions, but you can’t forget about him when it gets hot either,” said Hagan. “We run really well in the cool and it’s a pretty common fact that it’s more difficult to pull these cars back than it is to make them go forward.”
At this race track, DeLago has an abundance of street smarts when it comes to making the Diehard Dodge Charger go forward in a hurry. Hagan admitted his team went after a three-second run on Friday and if the conditions are right he could set a new national record with anything in the 3.994 to 3.970 second range on Satuday or Sunday.
Should he hold onto the top position for Sunday’s race, it would be his fourth number-one qualifier of the season, 10th of his career.
“We have some great notes to go off of,” said Hagan. “We did go to the final round here last year and it’s great to hold onto a phenomenal car like this. You know when you’re sitting in the seat … you had better pull your belts tighter because it’s going to be a ride.”
And this time the belts cinched tight, where he couldn’t get to the other end of the track quick enough to wish his little girl a very special Happy Birthday.
ZIZBANGING - Spencer Massey took the Top Fuel points lead from Antron Brown last weekend at Dallas, and Friday at Maple Grove Raceway, Brown had some measure of retribution.
He replaced Massey as the provisional No. 1 qualifier for the Auto-Plus Nationals, running a 3.797-second elapsed time at a track-record 324.44-mph speed on the 1,000-foot course at the Reading, Pa., facility.
The Matco Tools Dragster driver held off Larry Dixon by one-thousandth of a second in the night qualifying session.
But don't look for Brown to be satisfied with that. He's thinking national elapsed-time record and the 20 bonus points he could use in trying to grab his points lead back from Spencer Massey.
"This is a true test of each team's skill," Brown said. "In Indy we went from 100 degrees to 60 -- in one weekend. Now we've gone from a hot racetrack (near Dallas, with surface temperatures soaring above 130 degrees) to a cold racetrack. You have to change your car around to make it happen."
And right now, he said, the Top Fuel class has plenty of serious contenders who have been showing their extraordinary skill.
"There are eight to 10 cars that are running exceptionally well. You have some strong players besides the top five who can throw a monkey wrench in all of our stuff," he said.
"You;ve got to know how to step up. In Indy, nobody could run (3.)70s. Everybody was running 81s out the zizbang."
The what?
"The zizzang . . . I don't know," Brown said, laughing, his mouth running almost as fast as his dragster did moments before.
"But these tracks are starting to get so good that you have to get after it."
Asked how hungry he is for his first NHRA championship -- especially after coming close, including two series runner-up finishes, in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class -- Brown said, "Hungry's not the word for it. I'm starving.
"Our team's been solid from the get-go. We've been right there, winning races. We're peaking at the right time," he said.
Brown expressed his faith in crew chiefs Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi and the team's collective ability "to pull it off." He said, "We have to. If not, somebody else is going to be there to do it, and we want to be there to do it.
"Tony's got seven championships. [Larry] Dixon's got three. I want to mix it up," Brown said. "We want to be there for the end with a bonafide chance."
He appears to be headed in the correct direction this weekend, anyway.
CHOPPING THEM DOWN - Mike Edwards appeared more like a lumberjack than a Pro Stock driver under the threatening clouds hovering over Maple Grove Raceway Friday evening.
Edwards, the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Series champion, emerged as the provisional No. 1 qualifier among a logjam at the top during first day qualifying for the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa.
Edwards was one of three drivers who ran a 6.541 second elapsed time and by virtue of his 211.66 mile per hour speed snagged not only the No. 1 spot but also both ends of the track record from KB Racing’s Greg Anderson and Jason Line.
“That run was really good,” Edwards said of his opening shot. “It’s a good first day and we will see what happens tomorrow. When you have cars that run that close, it just means there are a lot of guys out there working really tough down to the wire. It’s so competitive from No. 1 to 16, as we found out the last race.”
Edwards lost a tough first round race last Sunday in Dallas, Texas, when Larry Morgan beat him on a holeshot.
Edwards learned misery has company as five other playoff seeds lost in the opening round and one failed to qualify. Despite the loss, he left the event fourth in the championship standings.
Qualifying provided an added opportunity to make up some ground on Line and Anderson, who left the event first and second in points respectively.
By virtue of his 6.548 in Friday’s second session, Edwards ended the day with six bonus points while Anderson and Line collected three apiece.
When asked how he felt about beating out the Summit Racing drivers, who proclaimed it was Edwards who had the better car headed into Dallas eliminations, he appeared to not be in the mood to discuss the team he trails in the championship chase.
“I’m not racing the Summit guys, I’m racing the whole field,” Edwards snapped. “We made two good runs out there today.”
But for Edwards, it’s Line and not the others who he trails by 141 points, roughly seven round wins and one point with only 12 rounds of competition remaining in this season. Each round win accounts for 20 points.
"We're still fighting as hard as we ever have" Edwards said headed into the event. "We have been trying to get our edge back and have been testing real hard in achieving that. We had a strong car in Dallas, but not exactly what we were hoping for coming up short in eliminations. For the rest of the season, our goal is reaching the final at every event and hope that leads us to a championship."
Edwards understands Maple Grove has a lot of potential.
"In the past, you could always throw your best at the Maple Grove track and it usually would stick,” Edwards said.
And for at least two sessions, the competition couldn’t shake a stick at Edwards.
CALL HIM KRUSHER - Eddie Krawiec studied the time sheet after making two passes down the Maple Grove Raceway quarter-mile Friday and tentatively earning the No. 1 qualifying position for the Auto-Plus Nationals near Reading, Pa.
The Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider and Pro Stock Motorcycle series points leader pumped his fist.
"We crushed 'em all!" Krawiec said, especially impressed with his incremental times and speeds. "Its' awesome to have a time sheet like that."
And he was looking at the times from the second sheet, when he made the slower of his two runs at 6.832 seconds, 195.48 mph
Indeed, he had crushed them all.
Krawiec set both ends of the track record with his 6.826-second elapsed time and 197.97-mph speed in the opening qualifying session.
"Reading has done well for me," he said. "I like coming here, because you know your motorcycle is going to go fast. You come to Reading, 'national record' comes to mind . . . (with) that cold October air and good conditions.
"I didn't think they were going to be there tonight," he said. Referring to Saturday's soggy forecast, he said, "Tomorrow, if we do get some laps in and it does stay dry and the humidity doesn’t go up, I think you can see some pretty stellar runs out there."
Competitor Michael Phillips has brought up the subject of 200 mph, but Krawiec said he doubts that will happen this weekend, even with mineshaft conditions.
"The chance of 200 is going to be pretty tough -- unless we get that tailwind," he said. We're going to need a good 15-mph tailwind to see that. I made a really nice, straight, smooth run and I went 197.97. That's pretty much top of the board for the weekend with naturally aspirated horsepower."
He said he didn't expect much more from his already productive bike. "We're not tapped out, but we're pretty close to not having anything else left. We have a good motorcycle."
He said the conditions, despite the threat of rain that always seems to appear at Maple Grove, are making this third race of the 2011 Countdown to the Championship extra-exciting.
"We love to go fast and flex our muscles, us motorcycle guys, all of us." He was flexing them early.
"I just wanted to go out there and make two consistent laps down the track," Krawiec said.
In his first pass, he said, the Harley-Davidson "left the starting line pretty good." In his second attempt, he said, "we had a better 60-foot (time) by two-hundredths (of a second) to the 330-foot clock, but it fell off on the other end due to weather conditions changing.
"Between Q1 and Q2, there obviously was a temperature change. Temperatures went down, but the humidity and the water grains in the air went up a little bit. You could feel it," he said. "You get a little damp, and when you feel that, it's not good for times for us (the bike racers)."
"We got my bike in a window," Krawiec said. "We just need to get me in a window and we'll be all on the same page, me and the motorcycle." The next goal, he said, is to "go out and win some races."
The team's other focus, he said, is "trying to get Andrew's bike turned around. We have two fast bikes." The trick, he said, is to get them to forge a dominating 1-2 punch at each of the remaining four race days. Hines closed the day No. 3 in the provisional lineup at 6.871 seconds, eight-thousandths behind Hector Arana and his Lucas Oil Buell (6.863).
“They were good enough to get me two wins last year,” Phillips said with a smile.
With his old notes and the blessings of sponsor Rodger Brogdon, Phillips is gunning this weekend to be the first rider to exceed 200 miles per hour in the Pro Stock Motorcycle division.
“We went out and ran 197.65,” Phillips told WFO Radio’s Joe Castello. “My bike had a little too much gear in it and I pulled back a bit for the final round. My crew chief talked me out of it to go for the race win.
“My focus this weekend is to go 200 miles per hour. I want to be the first to do it. I will make sure I get my chance before anyone else. I want to bust that 200 wide open.
“I have my gun aimed at the target. My focus this weekend is to do it on Friday and return to race mode on Saturday.”
Early provisional low qualifier Eddie Krawiec set the track speed record after one session with a 197.97.
BALANCING CAUTIOUS AND BOLD -Top Fuel part-timer Rit Pustari, making his first appearance since the June 2009 Englishtown race and the first at Maple Grove Raceway since he substituted in 2007 for the ailing Brandon Bernstein, held back his 
Surf-Rodz Dragster from the first qualifying session Friday.
On-loan tuning consultants Dexter Tuttle and Tony Shortall know they have to make a decent run or be one of three entries to miss the 16-car field this weekend and didn’t feel comfortable with the situation by the first session. At the same time, they knew they were gambling, with another wave of showers in the Saturday forecast -- and threatening clouds overhead Friday afternoon.
He started the second Top Fuel session Friday with a 5.794-second, 117.46-mph effort, a run he aborted at about half-track.
"I'm rusty," Pustari said.
Pustari, the Norwalk, Conn., sandblasting contractor (whose nickname "Rit" is short for "Richard"), drove Tuttle's dragster at a couple of races several years ago. He qualified Bernstein's car No. 13 here four years ago. And he indicated his faith in Tuttle and Shortall after inviting them here to advise on the tune-up this weekend.
Although Pustari said he has "been wanting to race fulltime for the past 15 years," he said his sponsor and longtime friend is a large reason why he's competing this weekend.
"They have a product that's superior in skateboarding," Rustari said, adding that Surf-Rodz wants to use this opportunity to expose its brand of high-performance snow, road, and water gear. "They wanted to see what the NHRA could do for them."
Crew member Andrej Kozel was working hard Friday morning to get the car prepared for qualifying, but he might have had a secondary job waiting for him when he got done. All the clover poking through the floor mat in the Pustari pit was waiting for him. Kozel's wife said the mechanic is astonishingly gifted at simply looking at a field of clover and spotting the four-leaf ones.
Pustari acknowledged that a little luck can't hurt, but Shortall said he and Tuttle wouldn't be trying anything fancy.
"We're just going to be conservative. We're just going to try to go from A to B," Shortall said Friday before qualifying began. "We want a nice, clean pass, then we'll evaluate that and get ready for tomorrow."
Tuttle said he thought Rustari had a decent chance to make the 16-car field from the pool of 19 drivers but said, "I'd feel better if weren't expecting rain and knew we had four chances."
The chassis on the Surf-Rodz Dragster, Shortall said, is different from Tuttle's but it's similar. So he and Tuttle aren't working in the dark. Joked Shortall, "We can abuse Dexter's stuff." But he clarified, "We know what it'll take."
“It appears my race car is getting back on track. We have struggled with testing and trying new things. We are just back in the game today,” said Force, a six-time winner at Maple Grove Raceway. ”There are only four races to go in this Countdown and if we are going to make a move we have to make it here at Reading. Mike Neff is tied with the lead and Robert Hight is right behind him. There are a bunch of good Dodges out there but at the end of the day these Fords will come out on top.”
“It has been pretty exciting today with all that is going on. At the end of the day we put three cars in the top twelve. We are in the show and we are worried about rain for tomorrow. I am confident with the way my hot rod ran today,” added the driver of the Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Mustang. “I am glad to be back in Reading and I am glad to be battling in this Countdown. I’ve got Ford, Castrol, Mac Tools, Auto Club and BrandSource all supporting me. Mike Neff is killing them tuning and driving and my son-in-law Robert Hight is getting his car together to run for the championship. Life couldn’t get better.”
FRIGHTENING MOMENT - Top Fuel veteran Pat Dakin scared the crowd in the second qualifying session. He might not have scared Doug Kalitta in the other lane, because his dragster drifted into Kalitta's lane, behind him. Dakin was disqualified for crossing the center line, and he indicated the fact that "it wouldn't come back" was a real shame because, he said, "I think it was hauling a--." Dakin got his car back in his own lane before turning off the track, avoiding contact.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT - Like a proud teacher watching a star student advance, Top Fuel racer Terry McMillen saw crew member Marla Weidenaar move on to Alexis De Joria's Tequila Patron Toyota Funny Car team. Not only did Jim Oberhofer's interest in Weidenaar's mechanical skills speak well for McMillen's Hoosier Thunder Motorsports operation, but it also was a handsome feather in the cap for the University of Northwestern Ohio's High Performance Motorsports Program. UNOH is one of McMillen's primary sponsors. He said he was happy Weidenaar, a UNOH graduate, got the chance to flourish. She was a "utility player" with the Amalie Oil / UNOH team, and budget constraints kept her home at the Elkhart, Ind., shop for the Western Swing. Now that she is working on DeJoria's crew, that gives Samantha "Sam" Madonia an opportunity to shine as Hoosier Thunder Motorsports' newest intern. McMillen said he's considering Madonia, a Hinckley, Ohio, native, about perhaps a fulltime spot for next season.
Said marketing rep Jim Walczak of UNOH and its quality training program, "It's amazing. I don't know where they find all these great kids. Every student we have spoken to there is hard-working and respectful." The school has recruiters at the NHRA races, working with McMillen and Company, but in the regions farther away from the Lima, Ohio, campus, recruiters often miss those events. In their absence, McMillen recruited two students in Houston in April at Royal Purple Raceway.
LIKE FAMILY - Terry McMillen and Dale Creasy Jr. are Chicago-area racers and longtime pals from back in the International Hot Rod Association racing days. And when he found some extra time Friday afternoon before qualifying started, McMillen went over to Creasy's pit to say "Happy Birthday" to Creasy Jr.'s mother Ruth. The Top Fuel driver also helped Creasy's crew push the car back from its pit area to be towed to the scales.
One of these days he might have a helpful extra crew hand. Two-and-a-half-year-old son Braden worked alongside his daddy in the pit Friday afternoon, "fixing" his own oversized toy car.
IT'S GO TIME - If Doug Kalitta is going to capture his inaugural NHRA Top Fuel championship, he is going to have to make a move in the point standings in a hurry.
Kalitta enters the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway this weekend in Reading, Pa., seventh in the standings, 135 points behind leader Spencer Massey. Kalitta began the Countdown Playoffs in sixth place.
“If we do not do good at Reading and the last few races, we are not going to have a chance at the championship,” Kalitta said. “Obviously with me driving and the tuning, which are two separate things, we are both going to have to make it happen.”
During the Countdown Playoffs at Charlotte and Dallas, Kalitta lost in the second and first rounds. Massey eliminated Kalitta in Charlotte and Antron Brown knocked him out in Dallas.
Following Reading, the NHRA season concludes with races at Phoenix (Oct. 14-16), Las Vegas (Oct. 27-30) and Pomona (Nov. 10-13).
“We are at the point now where we need to lead, follow or get out of the way,” said Kalitta, who has a 16-18 round record this season.
Kalitta made his Top Fuel debut in 1998 driving for the legendary Kalitta Motorsports team run by his uncle Connie Kalitta.
From 2001-2006, Doug won 29 races and finished no worse than fourth in the points chase, including being second in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Kalitta has now won 32 career races, his last coming at the 2010 Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver.
Doug is excited about competing at Maple Grove Raceway this weekend.
“The performances have always been good there, so it should be interesting,” Kalitta said. “We are definitely ready to go there with my team and win that thing if we can. We are just going to do our thing and hope that is good enough.”
Doug Kalitta has one career win at Reading in 2002 when he beat Kenny Bernstein in the final round. He also qualified No. 1 at Reading in 2004.
“I could fire the car, but no power or computer that we needed for the run,” explained Enders. Victor [Cagnazzi, team owner] made the decision not to make the run. The crew tried to jump in and fix it while Mike Edwards kindly slowed his process down. We couldn’t get to it there and got back to the pits and fixed it within a minute.”
The culprit was a low relay in the switch panel.
“Just one of those stupid little deals which will prevent you from running at the top,” Enders added.
Enders was fifth quickest after the first day with a 6.570, 210.05 pass in the first pair out during the second session.
In an odd scenario, during the second session, he ran a 6.585 to earn a spot in the provisional 12 headed into Saturday. Shane Gray was considerably quicker off of the starting line and ran a 6.598 to get in the field only to get bumped out when Krisher crossed the finish line.
QUESTIONING SAFETY - Hector Arana Sr., the elder of the two Arana family Pro Stock Motorcycle riders, is calling out Maple Grove Raceway for what he describes as a dangerous race track.
"I don't know if they fixed Reading or not," Arana Sr. the 2009 series champion said on Thursday before the start of the Maple Grove event. "There's a bad bump right at the finish line. Because of that, no, I don't like it. The bike really gets air, and it's dangerous."
Arana considers himself capable of navigating the racing surface largely due in part to his two decades’ worth of riding experience, but his son, Hector Jr., isn’t as seasoned of a rider.
"The track owners and NHRA have known about (the bump) for a long time, and yet it's not been corrected," Arana Sr. said. "Last year, the rumor was the whole track was going to get re-done. Mid-season, we heard it was only half of the track done.
"My concern was the finish line. Mainly, it's for my son and for the people with less experience. If they look at history, there have been a lot of motorcycles that have gotten into problems there because of that."
Lex Dudas, Maple Grove Raceway Vice President/General Manager, believes Arana’s statements were made without the proper research and not justified. He told CompetitionPlus.com the track brought in Penhall in the spring and milled the track from the 300-foot mark and down where a hump was past the shutdown area.
“We also milled off down further where there were issues … way down in the shutdown area,” Dudas explained. “We fixed everything.”
Dudas said the first time he realized there were perceived issues with the track was when Arana issued a pre-race press release pointing out his concerns.
“We did two years ago,” Dudas admitted. “When Angelle raced here we had a problem. But, we paved the track last year and we milled, which we did for a few other reasons. We milled on the seepage problem and we just decided to mill and polish the race track again.”
Dudas feels no racer should be afraid whatsoever to go down Maple Grove’s racing surface.
“Absolutely not,” Dudas added. “I have not had one complaint all year long. I run bikes here all year long, not as quick as those here in the NHRA Full Throttle Series, and all I ever hear is the place is smooth.”
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