EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

 

SUNDAY -

REDEMPTION - Larry Dixon was the Arizona Nationals Top Fuel victor Sunday, but in a sense, he and final-round opponent Antron Brown both were winners, exploiting Spencer Massey's DNQ stumble Saturday.

Dixon used a 3.955-second elapsed time at a 307.37-mph speed that was fastest of the meet in the Al-Anabi-Toyota Dragster to edge Brown's 3.96-seconds, 302.08-mph challenge in the Matco Tools-U.S. Army Dragster on the 1,000-foot Firebird International Raceway course in one of the National Hot Rod Association's closest side-by-side finishes to an event this season.

The reigning Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champion said that from the cockpit he couldn't see that he nicked Brown by a mere nine inches, or eight-thousandths of a second. However, he said it was satisfying "to be on the right end of a tight race. I've lost so many tight races. That's the way the mop flopped this week."

However, he was quick to say he will "save the pat on the back for Sunday night at Pomona and we'll see if we deserve it then." He said this result "got us back in the game."

It did.

Regained the points lead from Massey, who had taken it from him at Dallas two races ago. And Dixon improved from fourth to second, just 20 points behind Brown, as he won from the No. 1 qualifying position.

"It's been a long time since we've won," Dixon said, laughing a laugh of relief. "You never know when you're going to get the next one."

For the record, his previous victory came June 19 at Bristol, Tenn., where he beat Brown in their only other final-round meeting.

"Antron is so good in the car," Dixon said, adding that Al-Anabi-Toyota crew chief Jason McCulloch and assistant crew chief Ronnie Thompson "didn’t take him lightly. They put the best set-up in the car in the final round. And we needed every bit of it.

"It was really nice to go some rounds and get back in this points game again," he said. "It's nice to in, but to have a shot at a championship, that's  a big deal -- real big deal. Before the weekend, I was 108 points out of first."

He said he figured he would be in an opportune position if he could leave Firebird and head into the final two races of the season -- at Las Vegas and Pomona -- "within 60-some points out of first." He said that would have "thrilled" him, "because that means you've got a shot. We obviously made more ground than that up. You never know what opportunities are going to happen, so to take advantage --to win the race and get more points than anyone else, that's a good way to do it."

Dixon denied Don Schumacher Racing its 27th double-up finish, as Jack Beckman beat DSR mate Johnny Gray in the Funny Car final round.

Two more races -- the Oct. 27-30 Big O Tires Las Vegas Nationals and the Nov. 10-13 Auto Club Finals at Pomona, Calif. -- in the Countdown to the Championship. Only 91 points separate the top five racers. Massey dropped to third place, 25 points behind Brown. Worsham is 51 points off the pace and Tony Schumacher 91.

Dixon advanced to the quarterfinals Sunday when Terry McMillen red-lighted, then beat Dallas Countdown-race winner Bob Vandergriff and survived a close side-by-side match-up with Steve Torrence to make his fourth final-round appearance this year.

Meanwhile, Brown, the No. 6 qualifier, won the first round as Dave Grubnic red-lighted.

Then he beat Del Worsham, his closest challenger in the standings, and his own DSR teammate Tony Schumacher to reach his eighth final round this season. He's 6-2 in finals this year.

"It's a big day," Dixon said. And when it came to performance, that's certainly true. For Dixon, it also was bittersweet. He lost a friend in a racing accident.

Before the final round, fans stood in a moment of silence in tribute to two-time and most recent Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who was killed Sunday in a multi-car accident at the IZOD IndyCar World Championships at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

For Dixon, the news from Las Vegas was so much more personal. They had become acquainted in Indianapolis when Wheldon drove for Chip Ganassi. In May, he and his family participated with Wheldon and his in the annual fashion show that CARA -- the IZOD IndyCar Series' equivalent of drag-racing's DRAW -- stages each year as part of the Indianapolis 500 activities.

"It's tragic. The guy goes to work this morning to try to win five million bucks, and he doesn't come home. That's hard . . . That's really hard. I just feel for his family," a teary-eyed Dixon said.

CUT THIS BLASTED THING OFF - Jack Beckman was in the middle of such a foreign experience he couldn’t remove his helmet. For the first time in his professional drag racing career, Beckman, driver of the Aaron’s/Valvoline Dodge Charger Funny Car, emerged from his Top Fuel Funny Car as both victorious and the point leader.

As ESPN’s Gary Gerould waited, Beckman fumbled with his helmet. When television could wait no longer, the ESPN cameras were forced to return to the starting line for the Top Fuel final round.

“I thought they were gonna slice my jugular cutting that thing off,” Beckman later told ESPN’s Gary Gerould.

Beckman wasn’t suffering from a case of the big head, even though jumping four paces in the championship standings could cause this kind of a prideful moment. For Beckman, he had so much to say he couldn’t get his helmet off fast enough.

He’d been sick and had been absent from the winner’s circle for a while.

The whole family was in Phoenix to revel in his success including wife Jenna, son Jason [who hadn’t been to a race since dad won the Las Vegas event] and three month old daughter Layla.

“This is hard to believe [that we won],” Beckman said. “This [race] was a marathon. It was nasty hot. My son had a cough and the sniffles. I was starting to feel a little under the weather, which is a good thing. Whenever I am under the weather, we usually do good. You start getting the shakes like you haven’t eaten in 10 hours. But, every time I saw the win light, I felt pretty darned good.”

Beckman won for the third time this season while flying the colors of Aaron’s as his major sponsor. His previous victories came in Charlotte during the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals and at the Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

The Phoenix victory march came at the expense of John Force, Robert Hight and Jeff Arend.

“It’s hard to digest everything that happened on the race track today,” said Beckman. “I’ve always said that we wanted to control our own destiny on the race track. But being three rounds behind, with 12 rounds left, I knew [Mike] Neff and [Matt] Hagan had to lose relatively early to put us back in the hunt.”

The top two point earners lost to teammates with Hagan falling to Gray and Neff dropping a first round match to Robert Hight. This opened the door for Beckman.

“For everything to happen the way it did today, I’m not so gratified that I am the point leader, as I am gratified that we got ourselves back in the championship hunt,” Beckman said. “Love or hate the Countdown, this is exactly what it was designed to do. It was designed to give added drama to the last race of the year.”

Gray, Beckman’s final round victim, has been successful without the ability to gain points towards a championship. Gray finished the regular season ranked 11th ranked in the standings, but had he qualified for the Countdown, would be second in the point standings on the strength of back to back final round appearances.

The Phoenix victory might have placed Beckman in uncharted territory with a point lead with only two races remaining but it’s a scenario tuner Rahn Tobler has experienced. Tobler guided Cruz Pedregon to the point lead in 2008, and together they won the series championship.

“I remember [then] telling my guys if we could win those last three races, the rest would take care of itself,” Tobler told ESPN’s Dave Rieff. “There’s a lot of racing left and a lot of good cars.”

Right now, Tobler’s driver Beckman is the best, whether or not he can remove his helmet in a timely fashion.

REMEMBER ME? - Three numbers showed exactly how bad young Vincent Nobile wanted to gain back his rookie of the year swagger – 009.

Nobile, the first year Pro Stock driver, captured his third NHRA national event victory at the NHRA Arizona Nationals on the strength of a .009 reaction time. The quicker reflexes made all the difference as he drove Nick Mitsos’ Mopar to a 6.678, 208.30 to repel the charge of his engine supplier, Allen Johnson, who ran quicker with a 6.655, 209.49.

“This is huge and we definitely struggled in the last two races going out in the first round especially in the Countdown,” said Nobile. “Our team kept their heads up and I kept mine up. I knew we could do it; we proved it today. They supplied me with a fast and consistent car for four rounds and I did my job. This just goes to prove that if you keep your head up, you can win races.”

Of course lighting a fire under your team can help too.

“We came here on a mission and Vincent said, ‘Dad, we just gotta do better. That kid just drives like a machine,” said John Nobile, Vincent’s father and crew chief.

Nobile appeared on aggressive autopilot as he knocked off Larry Morgan,  No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards and Erica Enders en route to the final round against Johnson. In every round, Nobile was quicker off the starting line.

“This was a repeat of Englishtown,” said Nobile, who lost that event to Johnson. “I staged a little deeper than I should have. I told myself that I was not giving this one up. I staged as shallow as I could in order to cut that light down. I came up green so it worked out.”

The victory moved Nobile into fourth place in the championship standings behind Jason Line, Greg Anderson and Edwards. Both Line and Anderson lost in the first round in Phoenix.

The Phoenix victory could sway popular opinion back to even with Hector Arana Jr. in the running for the Rookie of the Year accolades. Members of the national motorsports media select the Auto Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winners which includes a $20,000 prize and commemorative trophy.

“It’s not about the money to me,” said Nobile, when asked how he would split the money with Arana Jr., in the event of a tie. “It’s about the prestige of being on that list with those who have won that award. It’s just so prestigious to me as well as Hector. If we were both on that list it would mean the world to us.”

This season has already meant the world to Nobile.

“I really didn’t think my season would go this well,” said Nobile. “The beginning of this year was phenomenal. I was living a dream then and I’m still living it today. I’m just waiting for someone to come and pinch me to let me know this is reality.”

Hector Arana Jr. knew he had a great opportunity this year, riding a National Hot Rod Association Pro Stock Motorcycle alongside dad Hector, the 2009 series champion -- with the blessing of Forrest Lucas, his team owner and boss in his 9-to-5 job at the Lucas Oil production plant at Corydon, Ind.

But he said he never knew this first season would turn into the magic-carpet ride it has been.

"I'm living a dream. This is amazing. I couldn't have imagined this," the 22-year-old Purdue University engineering student said Sunday after beating points leader Eddie Krawiec to win the Arizona Nationals and win from the No. 1 qualifying position for the second straight race.

Using a perfect reaction time (.000 seconds), Arana pulled a 6.884-second pass at 194.30 mph from his Lucas Oil Buell, while Krawiec recorded a 6.944, 194.27 aboard the Screamin' Eagle / Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson on the Firebird International Raceway quarter-mile.

Krawiec retained his points lead, although Arana sliced it to 10 with two races left in the season. All that remains are the Oct. 27-30 Big O Tire Las Vegas Nationals and the Nov. 10-13 Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona, Calif.

Matt Smith is lurking 97 points off the lead in third place.

"That was huge," Arana  said of his third victory in five final rounds and third in the past five races.

"You're talking about a 40-point swing in the points right there. If he had won we would have been in trouble. Now we're 10 points apart. It's anybody's game at this point," he said.

With the $10,000 triumph, Arana ratcheted up the pressure in his tightening rookie-of-the-year battle with friend Vincent Nobile of the Pro Stock class, who also won Sunday. They're duking it out among nine rookie candidates for the Auto Club of Southern California Road To the Future Award, which recognizes the top rookie among all professional classes. That will be presented Nov. 14 at the NHRA awards ceremony in Hollywood.

"I don't see why it wouldn't be a tie. We both deserve it," Arana said.

Reminded that sharing the honor would split the $20,000 cash prize that goes with the award from the Automobile Club of Southern California, Arana said without hesitation, "It's not about the money. It's about the reward."

Nobile, who won the Pro Stock trophy and $25,000 to keep pace with Arana in victories, said the same: "It's not about the money. It's about being on that list."

It's one that includes both GT and LE Tonglet, Spencer Massey, Mike Neff, Ashley Force Hood, Robert Hight, Jason Line, Brandon Bernstein, Melanie Troxel, Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta, Ron Capps, Mike Edwards, Tony Pedregon, Andrew Hines, Bob Vandergriff, and Larry Dixon.

Whatever happens, he simply was elated Sunday.

"My dad, my brother Adam and Dan (Gonzales) worked their butts off for me, and we're all clicking so well together," Arana said. "This Lucas Oil Buell is an absolute rocket, and I couldn't be happier.

Of his perfect light at the Christmas tree, he said, "That was cutting it close in the final, but  I knew I was just so amped up. I knew how big that single round was, definitely the biggest round of my rookie year. There's probably going to be a few more of those before we're done."

TOLENCE BATTLES BACK FROM ILLNESS - Steve Torrence battled through a bout of a flu virus and dehydration to qualify 13th for the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Despite saying before the opening round of eliminations Sunday, "I'm still not par right now," the Capco Dragster team owner-driver from Kilgore, Texas, made a couple of other racers -- Troy Buff and Brandon Bernstein -- sick.

Buff put Bill Millers' BME / Okuma Dragster in the No. 4 starting position, his best this year in his limited schedule. Torrence dashed Buff's hopes of recording his first round-win of the season. Then in Round 2, Copart Dragster driver Bernstein was Torrence's victim.

Torrence said the virus "hit me at lunchtime" Friday and cost him both qualifying chances that day.

"I threw up three times in the staging lanes, but I told myself, 'I can do it,' " he said, looking back to Friday's first qualifying opportunity. Then a fitting broke loose from the air bottle regulator, and Torrence said, "That's my sign."

He got out of the car, received some fluids by IV from emergency medical personnel, and later that night went to a Chandler hospital. He was treated and released at about 11 that night.

He did take the situation lying down -- literally. All day Saturday he rested in his motor home between passes as the fields were set.

He said he did get some serious rest. "I went to bed at 6:30 Saturday night and woke up at 7 a.m."

JFR DRIVERS STILL IN CONTENTION - With two races left in the Countdown to the Championship Mike Neff and Robert Hight are leaving Phoenix with a legitimate shot at winning the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship. In spite of disappointing performances today both drivers are closer to the points leader than 2010 Funny Car champion John Force was when he left Reading (then the third from the last race) last season.

Heading into Las Vegas in two weeks Neff is 22 points behind points leader Jack Beckman and Hight is 58 points out of first place. Last year Force was 64 points behind Matt Hagan with two races left and he came back winning the final two races of the season to claim his 15th Full Throttle Funny Car championship.

Mike Neff and Robert Hight met in the first round of eliminations and in one of the closest races of the day Hight took out Neff, the points leader, 4.361 seconds to Neff’s 4.356 seconds. At the top end Neff’s Castrol GTX dropped two cylinders on the same side of his BOSS 500 motor forcing the Mustang towards the guard wall.

“It was on a good run. It was probably going to run a 4.20 something, a mid to high 4.20. It just spun down there and like I said had it not put the two cylinders out I would have been able to drive it to the end and keep it going straight. It happened so fast. It got sideways and I saw the wall. The last thing I want to do is drive it into the wall. I don’t think I could have stayed in it any longer. I just barely missed hitting it as it was,” said Neff the No. 4 qualifier.

“I had to lift at the top end because it spun the tires. It put two cylinders out on the right side and when it does that you have your hands full. When it puts one cylinder out it doesn’t move the car too bad but when it puts two cylinders out on the same side the car makes such a violent move that it is uncontrollable. It got sideways so fast the next thing I knew I saw the wall and I had to lift or I thought I would drive it right into the wall so I lifted before I got to the end. That was probably the difference.”

It was so close at the finish line neither driver was sure who won when they stopped their Ford Mustangs in the shut down area.

“I never saw Robert. After I lifted he went by so I knew it had to be close. It is not what we were hoping for in the first round,” said Neff. “We just keep fighting. We went through this last year. I have to go win the next two races. It is as simple as that.”

The round win kept Hight’s championship hopes alive as he paired up with Jack Beckman in the second round. A win would have moved Hight within a couple of rounds of the points leaders. In a shocking turn of events, Hight’s Auto Club Ford Mustang red-lit for the first time in his career handing Beckman a round win and tightening up the points chase with two races left.

“I didn’t do anything different before that run as far as my routine. I don’t think I put any more pressure on myself. I know I wasn’t thinking I have to try extra hard for this run. I try hard on every run whether it is qualifying or eliminations,” said Hight, the 2009 Funny Car champion. “You can’t dig any deeper out there. You have to have a routine. I wish I knew what triggered my foot to leave. It was like it had a mind of its own. There is no excuse. I didn’t have any more pressure. You have to win every round all the time. That is what I tell myself. There is no perfect time for something like that but I can tell you there are worse times than others.”

“You take out your teammate and then you go up there and do something like that is bad.”

Hight knows that he has a tough road ahead of him to get his second Full Throttle Funny Car championship but it is a road that is not unfamiliar to JFR.

“John won the first Pomona and the first Vegas last year and he won the championship when he won the last Vegas and Pomona. I won the first Pomona and first Vegas this year and that is what I have to do,” said the five-time 2011 winner.

John Force was standing between both of his teammates in the first round and his emotions were pulled in two directions simultaneously. Earlier in the first round Force lost to Beckman and he had to hope that one of his drivers would dominate at Firebird International Raceway.

“What bothers me most is two things one is I can’t run for the championship and I can’t help my guys. I needed to get Beckman,” said Force. “(crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) and Robert’s car has struggled and they beat my lead car. That is racing. We have actually had the discussion; do we need a fourth Funny Car to run into each other. It gives you a gut ache when you are all teammates. I told my guys at prayer this morning there are two things I want of today, No. 1 I want to win this race but No. 2 and most important I you guys to love each other and still be a team no matter what happens.”

“(Watching Hight and Neff race) is like having two grandbabies you don’t know which one to hug. I love race cars and people. I stood in the middle of the starting line with Rick Stewart. I wanted them to know that I was not taking any sides. It hurt because he had such a lead. They are going to have to fight it out. I never pray against another team to go down. I pray for them to be safe.”

TWO GO OUT, ONE COMES BACK - In expressing his displeasure Friday with the National Hot Rod Association following its ruling to disallow his cockpit shield, Don Schumacher lamented that certain other team owners flaunt the rules and are unpunished -- and he named names.

He called the NHRA's decision "just another DSR rule because I am not Alan Johnson, John Force, or Kenny Bernstein." He said, "Those guys can do what they want and have done it for many years. Alan Johnson runs Pomona with an illegal supercharger, wins Pomona and they [NHRA] don't do anything. There’s guys out there competing with illegal heads and superchargers and parts within their superchargers. Why doesn't the NHRA do anything about that?"

Bernstein on Saturday denied that he receives preferential treatment and said he had no hand in influencing the NHRA's decision to investigate the equipment that DSR developed. Alan Johnson chose to keep his opinions about it to himself. And John Force tried to keep everybody satisfied.

The NHRA -- without sifting through any scientific data, Schumacher charged -- declared the shroud had no safety features and appeared simply to provide an aerodynamic advantage. Bernstein admitted that he thought the shroud was a performance-enhancer but said he didn't act on his hunch.

"If you think you're going to stand out here and do things and these guys aren't going to figure out something's going on, you're crazy," Bernstein said. "All of us knew that was swoopier, it was aerodynamic. We all knew that it looked that way. We had no proof. I didn't go do anything. I did nothing at all. Never complained."

Alan Johnson Racing, which operates the tandem Al-Anabi / Toyota Dragsters for Larry Dixon and Del Worsham, issued the following statement Saturday to Competition Plus:

"This weekend's off-track development concern other teams and are unrelated to the Al-Anabi Racing Team. Our sole focus this weekend is doing our best to win the NHRA Arizona Nationals."

Force, who has had his share of disagreements with the NHRA, said Sunday morning, "First of all, I'm not even in this dogfight. I don't know anything about dragsters. Don't be mad at me."

Alluding to a contentious matter in the recent Professional Racers Organization meting, Force said, "In all fairness to Don, a lot of things went wrong. A lot of stuff just hit him at the same time. I'm just sorry all this happened."

Schumacher was upset because, among other factors, he sank more than $100,000 into the research and development of the shroud, which the NHRA approved by the start of this season. The 15-time Funny Car champion said he understood Schumacher's position, for a few years ago he was at the center of  similar battle with the sanctioning body.

John Force Racing was cooperating with Jack Roush Racing in designing and testing a new Ford Funny Car body. After all the research and fabrication, the NHRA told Force it would not allow him to run that body.

"I was into that body about $300,000. And I had a fit. I went toe-to-toe with (NHRA Chairman of the Board) Dallas Gardner, and he told me, 'Force, you don't know everything.' He said he was doing it for the good of the sport," Force said. He said throughout his process "we did what we were told. But s--- changes. The sanctioning body makes the rules, and they're the boss.

"Has the NHRA ruled against me? Yes. Has the NHRA ruled for me? Yes. When something goes against us, we just go on. It's all a balance," he said.

Force said he appreciates the ability to debate with the officials: "In NASCAR, if we complained, we'd be thrown out of racing."

He appealed to Schumacher not to become so distraught that he might leave drag racing. (Schumacher, though still plenty angry Saturday, said he isn't planning to do that. He cited sponsor obligations among his reasons. However, he did resign Friday from the PRO Board of Directors.)

"We can't afford to lose him," Force said. "I want Don Schumacher to stay in the sport. If we lose him, we can’t even fill the fields."

Schumacher owns three Top Fuel teams and four Funny Car teams that are direct competitors of Force's three Mustangs.

For his peacemaking efforts, Force gained one thing -- a social invitation from Schumacher.

"After he chewed my a--, he asked me to go fishing with him," Force said. "He wants to use me for bait."

That's unlikely, but Schumacher still isn't willing to let the NHRA off the hook.

 

SATURDAY - FIREBIRD FUMES 'IN THE PITS', MASSEY MISSES THE CUT

IT WASN'T ME, SAYS BERNSTEIN - In the wake of the National Hot Rod Association's ruling Friday against Don Schumacher Racing and the team owner's accusations, Kenny Bernstein said Saturday morning at Firebird International Raceway that he is not the enemy.
 
Moreover, he said he was sorry to receive notice later Friday of Schumacher's resignation from the Professional Racers Organization's board of directors.
 
Bernstein emphatically denied that his team is the one that brought the matter to the NHRA's attention after seeking aerodynamic engineers to gauge the value of the cockpit canopies at the center of this latest drag-racing controversy.
 
"I've never said a word about his aerodynamic thing on his race cars. I haven't griped to the NHRA about it," the Copart Dragster team owner said.
 
Graham Light, the NHRA's senior vice-president of racing operations, said a representative of another, unnamed Top Fuel operation showed him a report from an engineer but did not let the NHRA have a copy because the information was proprietary.
 
Bernstein said Saturday he didn't know which team that was, nor did he want to know.
 
Schumacher leveled accusations Friday afternoon that Bernstein, among others, receives preferential treatment from the NHRA.
 
“I find that extremely hard to believe," an aggravated Bernstein said. "I don't know of anything in the past several years that we've gotten any special privileges on at all. I don't even know if I have even asked for anything in the last two years. I'd like for someone to tell me what it is."
 
He said, "The only thing I know that we had that was not approved that never ran was some side panels. My guys took it upon themselves to build some special side panels. They didn't bother to go through the process of getting NHRA's approval on it and therefore couldn't run them. When we did turn them into the NHRA, they were declined. Fine, no problem from me whatsoever. I didn't throw a hissy fit or nothing.
 
"I just said it cost me $6,000 and I was going to take it out of my crew chief’s pay -- which I won't, of course. The point is I don't know what I've done or asked for and received, that is of special privilege at all," Bernstein said.
 
"I don't really have a clue why" Bernstein said, reasoning why Schumacher would aim that remark his way. "We certainly haven't been in that position for a long, long time. Not in the recent memory that I can come up with. We are a single car team. I don't think we are on top of the world here, so I don't know what we have that someone else doesn't have."
 
As a one-car owner, he said, he does "want a level playing field out here," and he spoke about it in black-and-white terms.
 
"We do not have a level playing field out here right now for anybody. I do not think it's right that you cannot buy pieces that other people have because they make them and it's their private property. I don't think it's right that you can do a one-off certain thing with someone and no one else can buy it," Bernstein said.
 
"If you have a special gadget that is really good it should be available to every team out here. It should be open to everybody," he said. "Otherwise let this thing go like it used to be with no rules. Then we will spend ourselves into oblivion and there will be no sport. It's that simple."
 
Bernstein said he once did have a problem involving Schumacher and an injector. Bernstein he went to Aerodyne, a company which deals with all of the racing community, and was told the injector was proprietary to Schumacher.
 
"I don't know why the NHRA allowed that to happen, to be frank. But they did, and that's the way it is. So I don't buy the injector. I have to do something else.
 
"I never complained about that to anyone, anywhere or any time. The only thing was the injector, and that was in January. We physically went to buy the injector and could not buy it. We were told that we could not buy this injector from Aerodyne," he said.
 
"I'm in a little world over here, just trying to survive, be competitive, and win a race. That's where we are," Bernstein said. "We spend the money we need to spend to buy the best parts and pieces we can possibly buy that are available -- that we are ALLOWED to buy. That's all we care about. I don't care about all of that other stuff.
 
"I'll fight for things I see that I don't think are right and fair for the sport, and fair for the other deals," Bernstein said. "My opinion is that I think it should be a level playing field that if you’ve got a part, everyone should be able to buy it. I don't think teams should have things others can't buy. A lot of people don't agree with that, and I understand. That's just my opinion.
 
"If we're trying to control costs in this sport and keep people in the game, then you can't let everyone do whatever they want," he said. "It will force those who can't keep up out. Then you'll have one or two owners in this sport and that's it. If that’s what you want, then so be it," he said." I won't be one of those people, probably. It's that simple."
 
Bernstein said that while he did complain about Schumacher in January but not ever about the canopy.
 
"My complaint was about the injector that he had back in January. I complained on that because I wanted to buy it and couldn't. We wanted to buy it from Aerodyne, Aerodyne made it for Don. He did it. He positioned them to do it for him and it's his property and they couldn't sell it to me. All I did, at that point, was said to Dan Olson that I didn't think it was right that other teams couldn't buy what other teams had. I still feel that way. I didn't say anything else about aerodynamics or anything."
 
However, Bernstein did indicate that he thought the canopy in question, which Schumacher insisted was designed solely to protect drivers from fire and debris in the cockpit, appeared to include an aerodynamic advantage.
 
"If you think you're going to stand out here and do things and these guys aren't going to figure out something's going on, you're crazy," Bernstein said. "All of us knew that was swoopier, it was aerodynamic. We all knew that it looked that way. We had no proof. I didn't go do anything. I did nothing at all. Never complained. The only thing I complained about was the injector."
 
Schumacher has a few arguments of his own that he says are "that simple."
 
"NHRA approved these parts," Schumacher said.
 
Although his organization had a stack of documents to support its safety claims about the canopies when they tested it as far back as last year, he said the NHRA never requested to review it when they did approve the canopy. Likewise, he charged, the sanctioning body didn't take a professional approach when reversing its decision.
 
He called the NHRA's approach to the situation "amateurish" and said no one from the NHRA came and spoke with him, his drivers, or his crew chiefs before handing down the ruling Friday -- just before the start of qualifying for the fourth race of six in the Countdown.
 
Light cited the fire that beset Antron Brown in the quarterfinals at Reading, saying that was proof that the canopy wasn't designed for safety. However, he noted, the NHRA didn't conduct any in-depth investigation with available instruments and methods.
 
"I strongly disagree with the decision. They made it with no scientific evidence," Schumacher said. "They should talk to a real aerodynamic engineer. They never even came over and looked at Antron's firesuit until I gave them a piece of my mind."
 
What at once angered and baffled him was the NHRA's logic in removing a safety improvement from a car.
 
Schumacher called the decision and the way it was handled "an embarrassment to DSR, to the sport, and to every one of my sponsors."
 
He said he spoke with NHRA President Tom Compton by phone Saturday after leaving him a voice-mail message Friday. He said Compton told him he couldn't discuss the matter because he wasn't familiar with the details.
 
The team owner said he has no plans to appeal the decision: "It does no good to appeal anything to the NHRA. They're right."  
 
Said Schumacher, "I think Larry Morgan had a great T-shirt several years ago."
 
(The Pro Stock driver caused a flap for printing T-shirts with an NHRA logo and the words, "You Can't Fix Stupid." The NHRA banned the shirts, threatened Morgan with a lawsuit, and ordered him to hand over the shirts or destroy them.)      
 
Schumacher confirmed that he had sent a letter to PRO board members, announcing his resignation.
 
"That caught me totally off guard also," Bernstein said. "He’s been a great asset the last few years there. He’s been a right hand to me over there. He’s taken on a lot of responsibility for that organization. He’s helped me tremendously. I hate to see him leave. I don't really know why he left, to be honest about it.”
 
Schumacher said he has no more interest in investing any more money or personal energy into helping improve the sport, whether it's for the sake of safety, enhanced fan experience, or, frankly, any other reason. Saying, "They have no use for me," Schumacher said, "I've spent way too much of my own personal energy and time and money."

 

         

NHRA TO ADJUST DRUG TESTING IN '12? - NHRA’s sometimes controversial random drug testing policy will be expanded in 2012 – and possibly include invasive blood testing.
           
The new policy will include random tests not only for drivers, but also other participants, such as crew members.

The Arizona Republic first reported the story in its Sunday editions. CompetitionPlus.com has confirmed The Republic’s story.

The National Football League – America’s most popular sport as measured by TV ratings and other metrics – added blood testing for human growth hormone in its new collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union. Provisions were the union had to agree with methods for gathering samples and proof of scientific accuracy. About two dozen scientists sent a letter last week to the league and union attesting to its safety and reliability.

Major League Baseball’s players’ union does not allow blood testing, but it is done in the minor leagues. A Colorado Rockies’ minor league first baseman was suspended 50 games last summer after becoming the first North American pro athlete to test positive for HGH.  

Asked about the NFL’s actions, Graham Light, NHRA’s senior vice president of racing operations, responded Friday afternoon at the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway:

“I’m not aware about the NFL but that’s good,” Light said. “That would be a decision the people we contracted with to perform our drug testing would have to evaluate. Seems to me to make sense.

“I see a need to continue random testing and we are re-writing the entire substance abuse policy. We want to expand it to include beyond drivers. We need to do that.

“I don’t believe we have a problem. We’ve seen no indication we have a problem, but as a responsible sanctioning body of a sport, we need to put something in place to ensure problems don’t arise. So, blood testing, do I see it’s necessary? I don’t know. Let the experts decide that.”

READ THE FULL STORY

BAD TIME TO STRIKE OUT - With just twelve rounds remaining in the NHRA’s 2011 Full Throttle Championship series, Spencer Massey has forfeited four of them.

Massey, who entered the NHRA Arizona Nationals as the point leader by 65 point, will have no opportunity to block the competition or amass any points to aid his cause.

Massey was only able to muster a 4.422 best in four qualifying sessions. This lackluster performance comes just two weeks after beating a world record run delivered by Del Worsham in the final round of the Auto Plus NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa.

“Obviously track conditions … the change from Maple Grove to here,” said Massey. “Obviously, threw us a curve. It seemed like from our first run to our last the car was wanting to run. It wanted to run like it was in Maple Grove. We just couldn’t tame the beast. We turned every knob 180-degrees. We then tried to back it down in clutch, motor, everything. The tires were still spinning just as much out of control. We’re kind of scratching our heads right now.

“We think that there might be a little bug that we haven’t found. We’re going to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb tonight and tomorrow since we won’t be racing. I’m going to sit there and root for Tony Schumacher. I’d like to see him go so rounds.”

Teammate Antron Brown, second in points, qualified sixth garnered six bonus points throughout qualifying. Third in points Del Worsham gained two. No disrespect to Brown, but if Massey has his druthers, Tony Schumacher will get his first win of 2011 in Phoenix.

“I love Antron, he’s right behind me in points,” said Massey. “Tony is sitting in fifth. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a race win. That would bunch everybody in the points. I want to root for certain guys but I’d rather no one win. It’s kind of hard to explain that one.”

The largest disappointment for Massey is in losing the momentum he gained in the first half of the Countdown.

“Obviously, it hurts tremendously,” Massey said. “If we could have qualified, we could have gotten more points and had a shot at winning the race which could have helped tremendously in points. Now this is going to bunch everyone back up again.”

Massey understands there are those who will try to correlate the DNQ to the controversial decision by the NHRA to require the three Don Schumacher Racing dragsters to remove the shroud surrounding the roll cages. Last December, Massey was named as a driver for the FRAM Dragster and was one of the first of the team members to test with the new intended safety device.

“It had nothing to do with performance,” Massey reiterated. “If you look back to when Cory McClenathan had his fire in the FRAM car at Vegas, the fire wrapped around the cockpit and not only burned his firesuit but his shoelaces off of his shoes. That’s the reason we put the shields around the roll cages to keep the fire from getting inside the roll cage. I think without the shroud on Antron’s fire would have been a whole lot worse. I believe it is a great safety device that also shields the driver from shrapnel. It did not affect our performance one iota.”

Massey, who learned of the NHRA’s decision on Friday morning, was taken aback by the ruling.

“The NHRA approved it at the beginning of the year because we don’t try and sneak stuff past them,” Massey said. “They okay it. Now we are three races to go in the season, and they tell us to get it off of the car? We thought it was odd but wasn’t that big of a deal. It wasn’t like it made our car run better. It was safety.”

If anything, Massey said, the biggest difference the shroud made is the amount of media attention and controversy it created.

“It wasn’t a distraction but it did create more than a fair share of drama,” Massey said. “We had to field more questions than usual. If someone wants to believe the shroud created a performance advantage, then so be it. I assure you its removal had nothing to do with this weekend.”

READY TO MAKE HAY - Top Fuel points leader Spencer Massey likely is feeling overnight the lowest he has all season.

But Saturday, after failing to qualify for the Arizona Nationals, the fourth of six Countdown to the Championship races, he got his most encouraging reaction from No. 1 qualifier Larry Dixon -- at the head of a sizeable line of racers who want to take advantage of that.

Massey's misstep flung the door wide open for Larry Dixon and a string of top-six drivers -- all of whom qualified in the top half of the order for Sunday's eliminations -- to take a significant shot at the points lead and the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series crown.

Only two races remain: Oct. 27-30 at Las Vegas and the Nov. 10-13 season finale at Pomona, Calif.

Dixon led with a 3.919-second elapsed time on the 1,000-foot Firebird International Raceway course. With Massey on the sideline Sunday, Dixon will have plenty of opportunistic competition, including his Al-Anabi / Toyota teammate Del Worsham. Massey's Don Schumacher Racing mates Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher want to capitalize, too, as does No. 6-ranked Brandon Bernstein.

But Dixon, who began the weekend 108 points off Massey's pace in fourth place in the

standings, downplayed Massey's misfortune.

"I've not qualified for races before and won a championship," the three-time and reigning Top Fuel king. "So it can certainly be done. He could still go out as the points leader, out of this race. If you can do something with it tomorrow and go some rounds, it'll certainly help the cause. And nothing might happen tomorrow -- that's why we got to race them. Right now all I'm thinking about is the first round.

"We've seen enough with the Schumacher team in years past that you can go to the last round at the last race and things can change," Dixon said. "So you keep fighting, digging, crawling, scratching until it's over.

"They're still the point leaders, and they got there for a reason. They're a great team. They've got three finals and a win in the playoffs. That's why they're in the position they're in," he said. "We got ourselves in this position, and we can certainly get ourselves out of it. Having a good day tomorrow would certainly help the cause."

Dixon said his strategy is to "keep getting our car prepared, get a good night's sleep, and go out there and try to win first round." He will face No. 16 qualifier Terry McMillen, who happened to beat him in February at Pomona in the first round of his title defense.

Asked if he expected this event can see upsets, such as with the recent Countdown race at Dallas, Dixon said, "There's no question it can. This isn’t like some slugfest like you saw in Reading two weeks ago. You saw some upsets at Dallas. But at the same time, Spencer went rounds and he capitalized on everybody else going out of the race. The same thing can happen.

"It's hot, but it's not as hot as it was in Dallas. It puts a lot of pressure on the teams and crew chiefs to calm the cars down to get them down the track. Track surface is great. The track temperature is what's hard on the teams," he said. "It's going to put a premium on getting the car to the finish line under power tomorrow. And anybody can do it."

Said Dixon, "There's an opportunity there, but you still have to take advantage of it. A good showing tomorrow would do that, but I'm a long ways away from being back up in the press room (for winner interviews)."

Massey said the treacherously hot and slippery racetrack "threw us a curve" after his FRAM Dragster got used to the moist, cold air at the previous race, at Reading, Pa. two weeks ago. "It seemed like from our first run to our last, the car was wanting to run. It wanted to run like it was in Maple Grove. We just couldn’t tame the beast. We turned every knob 180 degrees. We then tried to back it down in clutch, motor, everything. The tires were still spinning just as much out of control.

"We're kind of scratching our heads right now. We think that there might be a little bug that we haven't found," he said. "We're going to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb."

Added Massey, "I'm going to sit there and root for Tony Schumacher," who was 140 points behind. “I love Antron, he’s right behind me in points. Tony is sitting in fifth. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a race win. That would bunch everybody in the points. I want to root for certain guys but I’d rather no one win. It’s kind of hard to explain that one.”

Failing to qualify, he said, "hurts tremendously. Now this is going to bunch everyone back up again. We are not going to have a 65 point lead. We could lose our lead."

Massey wasn't alone in his misery. Countdown qualifier Morgan Lucas also missed the grid of 16, as did Chris Karamesines.

SUNDAY STRATEGY - Cruz Pedregon believes strategy will separate the winners and losers during Sunday’s elimination rounds at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix.

“I won’t go into the details of ours, but to quote A.J. Foyt, everybody can do what we are doing, they just have to turn the right knobs,” Pedregon said. “We have a good strategy and it comes from knowing how to read the track. Really the car does it on its own. We do very little.”

Pedregon certainly did a lot in challenging conditions during the second day of the fourth event in the Countdown to 1.

Pedregon raced to his sixth No. 1 qualifying effort of the season. His most recent No. 1 start came in Dallas three weeks ago in conditions closest to what the NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car division experienced this weekend in Phoenix.

“We are just going to try and be steady,” said Pedregon, who also won the Dallas event. “That last run was important to us because it did what we asked it to do. It did drop a cylinder at the 330-foot mark, but we can go back and fix that. We have a great car even though we missed it this morning. The fact is we made three out of four good runs.”

Pedregon ran a 4.284-second pass on a 128-degree track during Saturday’s final qualifying session. Only Johnny Gray ran quicker with a 4.264.

“To be second quickest with a cylinder out isn’t bad,” Pedregon added. “I’m sure the more runs the competition gets, the closer they will get to us. Hopefully we can go enough rounds without crossing paths of the one car who can get us.”

The strategy for Pedregon is apparently if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it.

“We’re not in there like mad scientists changing stuff around,” Pedregon said. “I’ve had good cars where you don’t have to do much to it, it just does it on its own. We have good equipment, thanks to our sponsors. The Toyota body is giving us good down-force. The car is balanced well. This is stuff we worked on off-season. We've got stuff some of the other cars don’t have.”

There were 18 cars entered into this event, meaning two would miss the show. As it turns out, those two were Pedregon’s brother Tony, and Ron Capps, his final round opponent in Dallas.

“It’s a game of near-misses,” Pedregon said. “If we had stumbled on Friday, we could have been down to our last attempt too. It’s scary. But I really enjoy these kinds of race tracks. This track has personality.”

And on a track with personality, Pedregon believes, strategy can be the difference between success and failure.

 

 

THE START IS THE KEY - There’s a common belief that it’s not how you start a race but how you finish which makes the most difference. When it comes to success at the NHRA Arizona Nationals winner’s circle, No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards believes a good start will be the key to getting a good finish.

Edwards claimed his fourth No. 1 of 2011 on the strength of his Saturday morning run, a 6.617, 210.28, to take the top spot from point leader Jason Line, who garnered nine bonus points throughout qualifying.

“There are some cars that are running consistently to the 60-foot,” Edwards said. “Those are gonna be the cars to beat [on Sunday]. It doesn’t matter what you can do on the other end if you can’t get off of this end. Tomorrow will be a different day, especially after running behind the fuel cars. Everybody is going to have to really be on their game.”

As it turns out for Edwards, the Saturday morning run was the only one he made under power to the finish line on this day.

“We ran good this morning but struggled getting off of the starting line,” Edwards said. “We just haven’t gotten it figured out and we are a little concerned about that. We didn’t get down tonight, so we are definitely scratching our heads. We feel good about how we can run if we make a decent run off of the starting line.

“We are really concerned.”

Edwards said he feels a strong measure of uncertainty for Sunday but the No. 1 qualifying effort will calm his anxieties for now. He admits there are times his team has looked unbeatable and others when they have struggled. His team has proven strong out of the gate.

“We’ve run good at times,” Edwards said. “We ran very good on the first day in Reading and when conditions changed, we just couldn’t keep up. We ran pretty good in Indy and just haven’t seemed to be able to put it all together. When the temperature gets warmer, we just seem to run better. The engine runs better for whatever reason. We have been off, hit-or-miss on the West Coast. We have been trying stuff on the car and we feel it has been better at times and sometimes it bites us like tonight. We have got to get back to the drawing board for sure.”

Sunday will provide the opportunity.

AND YOU'RE A ROOKIE? - For a rookie rider, Hector Arana Jr. is looking awfully seasoned.

The second-generation rider navigated his Lucas Oil-sponsored Buell to an impressive sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and his third in a row. He’s a frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year accolades, but his former focus is now on the backburner. The reality is he’s just trying to focus on the immediate run, or round in competition.

"I'm thinking about the championship, but not that much," Arana Jr. said. "If I think about the championship, it's going to get to my head, and it's going to screw up my riding. I'm just worried about being consistent, hitting my shift points, being a good rider. I know the bike is consistent, so I know if I do my job, we're going to keep going rounds, and we're going to win another race.

"That's ultimately what I want to do is have fun. I love riding the bike, so I know if I keep winning, I get to ride it that one extra time. That's what I want to do."

Arana entered the NHRA Arizona Nationals almost two rounds behind point leader Eddie Krawiec. The 35 point deficit was whittled down to 30 with the help of bonus points and the No. 1 qualifier benefits. He was fastest in three of the four qualifying sessions, grabbing the No. 1 spot with a pass of 6.889 seconds at 194.94 mph.

In addition, Arana heads into Sunday’s eliminations as the newly christened track record holder.

"We had the horsepower," Arana Jr. said. "It showed in the back half. We just had to have the clutch package together. That's what we did this morning. We got the clutch to hook up and had a .106 60-foot. Everything else came together, and we ran that 6.88.

"I honestly didn't think we were gonna run an .88, but we did, and I'm really proud of that. Even if we were to keep coming to this race track, I think that would be a record that would hold for a while."

The temperatures for the first two days of the event hovered close to the 100-degree mark and this, Arana believed, worked in his favor.

"This bike really seems to perform well in the heat," Arana Jr. said. "I don't know why, but it does. It seems like the heat doesn't really affect it, as far as mph. The heat does affect the 60-foot, because the track is greasier. But I think it's an awesome Lucas Oil Buell."

Arana Jr. will face David Hope in Sunday's first round of eliminations. Hope qualified No. 16 with a pass of 7.115 seconds at 187.78 mph. 

 

 

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FRIDAY - IT'S A HOT DAY IN THE DESERT

 

 

THE FULL CORY MAC SEQUENCE BY ROGER RICHARDS

BRING ON THE HEAT - When weather temperatures rise above 90 degrees, some NHRA pro drivers cringe.

Not Mike Edwards. Edwards, the 2009 Pro Stock world champ, felt right at home in the hot conditions at Firebird International Raceway Friday evening at the Arizona Nationals in Phoenix.

Edwards clocked a 6.642-second time at 209.10 mph to capture the provisional pole.

Edwards actually tied Jason Line for the top elapsed time, but took the No. 1 spot based on his mph compared to Line’s slower 207.21 mph.

“It was real toasty,” said Edwards about the temperature which was 92 degrees during the second round of qualifying when he recorded his top time. “I guess the one thing about is at least it is dry. Back at home (in Oklahoma) when it is 100 degrees it is really humid. This was a good first day, a good start. The track came around pretty good there in the night run. (Saturday) will be a different day, but hey we made two good runs, so hat’s off to my guys and will see what (Saturday) holds. We like these conditions. It seems like we run better when it is hot and I do not know why, I can’t explain that. For some reason it seems like we run a little bit better in the heat.”

If Edwards keeps the top spot through Saturday, it would be his fourth of the season, 38th of his career, and third straight at Phoenix.

The last time NHRA’s Pro Stock drivers competed at the Arizona Nationals last February at Firebird International Raceway it was a miserable experience.

Pro Stock drivers Gordie Rivera and Vinnie Deceglie wrecked and overturned their cars during qualifying runs.

The problems with Firebird International Raceway’s track surface resulted in Graham Light, NHRA’s senior vice president-racing operations, gathering first-round Pro Stock winners and suggesting that they finish their eliminations during the Gatornationals, the next national event on the schedule, and the Pro Stock drivers agreed to do so.

Nearly 20 months later, major improvements were made at the track, including the track’s first 700 feet now being concrete and the remainder of the track is asphalt.

The six week project included Penhall experts grinding a large percentage of the concrete, removal and replacement of 30 feet of concrete starting at 180 feet, as well as milling and repaving the asphalt from the end of the concrete to just past 1500 feet.

Edwards did notice the difference in the track.

“It (the track) seems to be much better,” Edwards said. “Not so much smoother, the surface contact to the tires is much better. Anytime you are not turning them (cars) upside down it is a good improvement.”

Edwards also is optimistic what he can accomplish today in qualifying.

“We made a good run (Friday night), but I think we can run better,” Edwards said. “Conditions should be better (Saturday) and I look for some times to improve definitely.”

JUST GET IN THE SHOW - Larry Dixon doesn't ask for much.

The three-time Top Fuel champion understands that drag-racing success comes in simple details.

He shook off sizzling heat, a new track surface at Firebird International Raceway, an extra-motivated Tony Schumacher, his own Al-Anabi - Toyota teammate Del Worsham, surprise No. 4-ranked Troy Buff, and Brandon Bernstein rebounding from a nasty qualifying crash at Reading. His approach was simple, the same one he always uses.

"I just care about getting in the field and making sure we can race on Sunday," Dixon said. "I don't care where it's at, because I know I've got a great car and a great team, whether we're  1 or 16. But you've got to be in the show."

He's in it, for sure, with a 3.919-second pass at 303.84 mph on the 1,000-foot course Friday, tentatively leading the Top Fuel order for the Arizona Nationals.

Dixon was eighth after the opening session, as Schumacher took the early advantage, despite the NHRA disallowing Friday morning the protective shroud and canopy that Don Schumacher Racing uses on its three dragsters.

"The track tightened up a lot for all the teams in the second crack at it," he said. "That's why I think the numbers picked up quite a bit for the fuel cars.

"The first session you're getting a kind of feel," he said. "The track's hot but not hotter than we've seen before. We raced on that three weeks ago at Dallas. It's just making the adjustments for ambient temperatures, water grains and that. (Crew chiefs) Jason McCulloch and Ronnie Thompson did a great job on that."

Said Dixon, "We put a good run down on the board and it stuck. I wasn't sure, being earlier in the pairings. Running a three-second time, I knew that number would stick, as far as staying qualified. From that point on, any further up the chain that we ended up, it's icing."

He didn't venture a guess about whether that 3.919-second elapsed time will remain quickest, with the forecast for more of the same conditions Saturday.

"Our team and all the others teams are going to be shooting to try to improve. We're going to try to do everything we can to stay there," he said.

BIRD OF A DIFFERENT FEATHER - Eddie Krawiec never had competed here at Firebird International Raceway, but after just two passes on its quarter-mile Friday he already likes the suburban Phoenix racetrack.

Christening the Pro Stock Motorcycle class' debut here by seizing the provisional No. 1 qualifying position will do that to a bike racer.

With a 6.939-second elapsed time at 193.63 mph on the Vance & Hines / Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson, the points leader held off the father-son tandem of Hector Arana Senior and Junior in qualifying for the Arizona Nationals, the fourth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship.

At No. 4, Matt Smith was the only other racer to register a 6.9-second pass. Krawiec's teammate, Andrew Hines, rounded out the tentative top five.

"We made it down the track two really good laps, in the top five for 60-foots on both runs run. For us, that's important," Krawiec said. "We had pretty much actual race-day conditions first lap (as the track temperature approached 130 degrees).

"We were just trying to get a good baseline tune-up, " he said. "Went 1.06 (seconds in the first 60 feet of the course). Came back the second run, track cooled off about 10-15 degrees, and it still went 1.06.  So it proves we've got the bottom half of the track. Second run we worked on our tune-up and obviously it showed -- we went a (6.)93.

"I really don't think I left a whole lot out there that run," Krawiec said. "I went as straight as you could go, with minimal corrections, on time with my shifts. That was a pretty sweet run, in my opinion."

This stop on the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series tour traditionally follows the Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., as the No. 2 race of the season. The motorcycle class opens the season at the Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla., in the third overall event. So this is the first time the Phoenix fans -- who showed up in decent numbers Friday, eager to brave the scorching upper-90-degree weather and patiently waited out some lengthy track clean-ups -- got to see the bikes race.

The race is scheduled to return to its familiar February date next year, so this appears to be the lone chance to appear at Firebird. And Krawiec said it while it's fun to perform in front of a new audience, it was a bit unsettling at first, to do it in the literal heat, in the figurative heat of a championship war, and at a track where he didn't know what to expect.

"You're sort of a little nervous," Krawiec said. "You have this Countdown race that's in the middle of a points battle. You're coming off the truck with no information, no data. That's where years of experience [pay off] where you look at past data from past races and see what really relates. We happened to find some good stuff we could relate to."

He said, "Dallas had pretty similar conditions. That was definitely one of the other races we looked at, but you got to look also at other altitude tracks that fall into 3,000 feet. Out here it's between 3,000, 4,000 feet corrected altitude. More important, it went down the track twice."

His class' trip here as part of the season wrap-up, he said, "is a little bit bittersweet. We get a taste of what it is out here, and then they take it away. Actually, I was looking forward to coming out here. I love coming to new tracks."

Before Krawiec began competing in Pro Stock Motorcycle, the 2008 series champion was dragstrip manager at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown, N.J.

"I definitely love the opportunity to go to another facility and see what they have to offer. For me it's knowledge. I take it all in. Every dragstrip that I go to, I try to learn from. I enjoy it. One thing about it out here . . . It's hot! We're going to learn some hot weather stuff.

"We're excited to be here, getting to more races and letting more people see us," he said.

Krawec pronounced the track "fairly smooth" but said the shutdown area is a bit short for his taste. "There's certainly a lot of other worse ones," he said.

He said because the bikes produce far less horsepower than the fuel cars, they don't agonize as much about track conditions. "We can get down a hotter, greasier track much easier."

And he did it easier than anyone else Friday.

HEAT SEEKING MISSILE - Nearly all season, Cruz Pedregon’s Funny Car has been stout in qualifying.

Friday night was no different.

Pedregon clocked an impressive 4.215-second time at 296.37 mph to grab the provisional pole at the NHRA’s Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

“We were little nervous going up there because we kind of missed it a little bit in the first run, even though we were fourth quick,” Pedregon said. “I like the heat. The car likes it. I do not know what we are doing any different than anybody else. The car does it on its own. The car has a good personality right now and we are just trying to stay out of its way.”

If Pedregon keeps the pole, it would be his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 45th of his career. It would be Pedregon’s second in Phoenix as he also captured the top spot in 1993.

“The track is tricky and it has its own personality,” Pedregon said. “Not all these tracks can be exactly the same otherwise it would not be any fun. A guy could just set up one car and dominate. Thankfully, there are all these different elements to keep our Snap-on Toyota in the hunt.”

Pedregon is unsure if his run will hold through Saturday.

“That is a tough one,” Pedregon said. “Obviously I would hope so. That is a good enough run where somebody would have to stick his chest out there a little bit. We are going for all those little points, the top three points. We are just going to go out there and hang on and not even worry about low et. If we can hang on, that’s great. If not, if it is three or four going into Sunday, that’s Ok to. The main thing for us is getting those top three points in each session. “

Pedregon, who won Funny Car world championships in 1992 and 2008, came to Phoenix 32 points behind points leader Matt Hagan. Hagan qualified fifth.

OFFENSIVE REBOUND - Terry McMillen rallied to make the top 12 after experiencing his first DNQ of the season at the previous race, at Reading, Pa. He closed Friday's opening day of qualifying 11th in the order in his special-edition pink Amalie Oil / UNOH / Motor State Distributing Dragster.

A fan stopped by his pit for an autograph before time trials began and with a big smile encouraged McMillen, saying, "I always root for the underdog!"

The Hoosier Thunder Motorsports owner-driver laughed and said, "I got that market covered right now!"

But he went out and put himself sixth in the lineup in the first session and stayed in the top 12, hardly underdog performances.

"We've got everything in place. We've got the best sponsors and a great crew. We just need to catch a break," McMillen said. "We're going to concentrate on getting this car in the show, and then we're going to go after round wins."

That's really nothing new, he said.

"It's really the same plan we started the year with. We're just going to remain aggressive towards that goal. As crazy as that may sound, I believe we're that close to having a break-out race."

The hot weather doesn't faze him, he said. In fact, he likes it, said he think he might have an edge.

"Richard (crew chief Hartman) has a good warm-weather tune-up," McMillen said. "Plus, I think it evens the playing field up a little. Usually those teams that like to swing for the fence when we have mineshaft conditions have to tune their cars down a little when things warm up. I like our chances when it gets hot like it is here in Arizona this weekend."

His pink car and pink crew uniform shirts, which call attention to breast cancer awareness, are back for this race and the next, at Las Vegas in two weeks. Mechanix Wear has joined McMillen, outfitting the team with pink gloves.

The NHRA recognized McMillen's team as the Best Appearing Crew at Reading. Said McMillen, "It was really an honor for us to be recognized that way. We thought it would be a nice thing to do, to help bring awareness to breast cancer, but we really had no idea that it would touch so many people to the extent that it has. I’m constantly getting emails and phone calls from the people it has touched. So, I think it has been just as much a touching experience for us as it has been for the people fighting cancer."

IN DECENT POSITION - "Slimy" evidently suits Tim Wilkerson. The Levi, Ray, & Shoup Ford Mustang owner-driver predicted before Friday's opening round of qualifying that the racetrack, which he said was 140 degrees Thursday afternoon, "is going to be slimy, I'd think. You just need to see how the racetrack's going to treat you."

The 129-degree repaved surface was relatively easy on the Springfield, Ill., veteran. He navigated it well enough to clock a 4.366-second pass at 271.84 mph that was second only at the time to Service Central Dodge Charger driver Johnny Gray's 4.310, 277.49 in the pairing ahead of him.

Mike Neff pulled even in the standings with Matt Hagan as he made up his two-point deficit with bonus points for coming up with a 4.349, 27.278.06.

Wilkerson dropped to No. 7 in the order with the second session.

Though buried in the Countdown field, Wilkerson said he's not experimenting and preparing for next season.

"Not at this point," he said. "I'm pretty close to being mathematically eliminated, but if Mike Neff and Matt Hagan were to get beaten early and we win, then maybe we'd be back in it."

He didn't put much stock in that theory, but he said, "I'm not going to change much [during the winter] anyway."

He said he's looking for a sponsor so son Dan can run an expanded schedule in 2012.

"The poor kid gets to make only about 10 or 15 passes a year, and when you have to wait that long, it seems like you've never done it," Wilkerson said. "I think he always does a really good job. But I'm a little prejudiced."

SHE WANTS WHAT?! - It's a little early for writing Christmas lists, but NHRA Top Fuel legend Shirley Muldowney has one item on hers that might be a bit of a hot potato for Santa Claus -- and definitely would be one for Don Schumacher.

"I want Don Schumacher to hire me and have Rahn Tobler tune the car," she said Friday during qualifying for the Arizona Nationals.

She and Tobler, her longtime crew chief, divorced several years ago after a 25-year marriage. Tobler is top-five Countdown contender Jack Beckman's crew chief for the Aaron's Dream Machine / Valvoline Dodge Charger.

Because their break-up wasn't especially harmonious, she addressed the issue of just how Tobler would tune the car with her in the driver's seat. She shot back, "I'm not a stupid driver. I wouldn't get in just anything."

Muldowney was quick to say, "I don't have a million dollars," but she insisted, "I would put myself in a class with Cruz Pedregon, and Cruz Pedregon is plenty talented.

"I drove a Funny Car for three years -- when they were hard to drive," she said. "Cruz Pedregon can help me refresh my Funny Car skills."

Said Pedregon, who remains friends with both Muldowney and Tobler, "Absolutely I would! It would be an honor. I'm a softie when it comes to the wily veterans who are the pioneers, because I'm such a fan of the sport.

"The word competitor gets overused," Pedregon said, "but if I could sum up Shirley in one word it would be competitor. Forget male or female -- she's a competitor. She challenges me in the competitive department, and I'm nuts."

Muldowney recognizes it's a safe bet that she won't that she more likely than not will not receive her wish. However, she said, "It would be one h--- of a media story."

ONE-UPSMANSHIP, LITERALLY - Matt Hagan fared well, ending the first day of qualifying in the No. 5, but Mike Neff edged ahead in the standings, earning three points by starting out second and finishing third on the grid overnight. Neff entered the event trailing Hagan by two points, so heading into Saturday's last two qualifying chances, Neff is a point ahead.

Neff, who acts as his own crew chief for the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, said of the 4.251-second elapsed time that left him one position farther down the ladder, "I am happy with that run. Conditions cooled off and those were great runs by Cruz (Pedregon) and by Jim Head. I am actually encouraged to see that, because it helped me make a little bit better decision. We're third and I'll take that."

CONTENT WITH NO. 2 - Greg Anderson is prepared to face the reality he’ll likely carry another number on his window other than No. 1 come next year. He won’t have to go far to see where it ends up as teammate Jason Line carried a 181-point lead, the equivalent of nine rounds and one point, into this weekend’s NHRA Arizona nationals.

Anderson has been around the game long enough to know it’s not over until it’s over.

“Mathematically I may still be alive for the championship, but in all likelihood, Jason will be this year’s champion, and I’m fine with that,” said Anderson.  “After all, at the start of the year, our ultimate goal is to have the two Summit Racing cars finish 1-2, which is not an easy task, and right now we are in a position to do just that.  Of course, as a competitor, you want to be the one that is on top, but with only three races left and as well as he’s running, I have to be realistic.

“It took a little time to accept it, but now it’s time for me to get back in the ring and defend my position, because it would be the very best thing for this race team.  If we can finish the year 1-2, we’ll have one very happy individual in Ken Black, and everyone on this team will be motivated to dig back in and work hard during the winter so we can come back and do it again next year.”

Just as Anderson is prepared to acquiesce his series championship, Line isn’t so eager to celebrate. He does have to recognize he’s not far off of what he predicted would be required to win the series championship.

“I had said going into the Countdown that you would have to win four of the six races to win the championship,” said Line. “Well, so far we have won two, so I’m approaching Phoenix the same as I do every race, namely that it’s one we have to win.  After all, you have to keep doing the things that made you successful in the first place.  Besides, I’ve never won at Firebird Raceway before, so it would be nice to add it to the list.”

A victory this weekend will likely lock up the championship for Line but this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s backing off.

“There is still plenty left for me to accomplish this season,” said Line.  “For example, I had never won six races in a season before this year, so with three races left there’s no reason I can’t win even more.  As a competitor, it comes down to making the most of what you have available, and it has been some time since I had a car as strong as this one.

Anderson is intent on moving forward this weekend and even if he’s is racing in a supporting role he’s still got plenty to race for.

“There are still plenty of carrots out there for us to pick,” Anderson said. “As I say every year, championships are the ultimate goal, but the most important thing to me is winning races. So, if we can somehow win these last three races and add to the eleven Jason and I have already won, it would be a fantastic year, so we have more than enough motivation heading into Phoenix.”

 

 

THE BATTLE INTENSIFIES - Funny Car championship contender Bob Tasca III turned 36 years old today.

But instead of following the tradition of blowing out birthday candles, the Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford Mustang wants to blow out his competition this weekend at the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix.

"This is not a 'maybe,' an 'if' or a possibility. To stay alive, we have to win the race," Tasca said, recognizing that he relied on the misfortune of others to maintain his seventh-place standing at the previous race, at Reading, Pa.

"We got lucky in Reading, with a few of the top cars losing in the early rounds. You can't count on that every weekend," he said. "and with only three races left we have to put a W on the board."

He has three -- none west of  Gainesville, Fla. -- but he said his Mustang is going rounds now. He has raced in 13 rounds out of a possible 20 in the past five events. "But we need a win," Tasca, who's 134 points off matt Hagan's pace, said. "You've got to close the deal on one of these races, and pick up the maximum amount of points."

Tasca knows what No. 4-ranked Robert Hight knows: "With three races left this is anyone's championship."

With eight different winners in the past eight races, Hight is right.

Hight scored a career-best fifth victory in a single season at Reading, putting him and his Jimmy Prock-tuned Auto Club Mustang right back into the mix. Only 90 points separate the first six drivers. Hagan leads Mike Neff by two points, Dallas winner Cruz Pedregon by 32, Hight by 52, Jack Beckman by 55, and Ron Capps by 90. Jeff Arend is a single point behind Tasca, and reigning champion John Force and Tim Wilkerson bring up the rear of the Countdown field.

"After coming off the championship, I have mixed emotions," Force, driver of the Castrol GTX Mustang, said. "I need a miracle. I need to win the last three races and everybody else has to fall on their face -- and they're not all going to fall."

Force, at 1,096 career elimination-round victories, is on the verge of setting an NHRA milestone as the first driver in any class to win 1,100. He hasn't had any luck lately, as he arrives at Firebird with five straight first-round losses, the first time that has happened for him since 1979.

So while last year he was singing Toby Keith's song, 'I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was," this fall he might be moaning John Mellencamp's lyrics, "I'm down and out here in paradise."

What Force, who has won in Phoenix eight times (no active driver in any category has come close), did say for sure is "I never say never. But if I can't get back in this fight, my job is to help Mike Neff and Robert [Hight] win this championship."

Pedregon, Beckman, and Capps have other ideas.

"We're very much in the hunt," Pedregon said of his Snap-on Toyota team. "I love the Countdown. I think six races is enough to get a good average [to determine a champion]. Whoever comes out of this [at the top] is going to deserve it."

Don Schumacher Racing drivers Beckman and Capps each said he has the best hot-weather crew chief.

"I think we're one of the best hot-weather cars out there," Beckman said of his Aaron's Dream Machine / Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger. He credited crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant crew chief John Collins. "At the beginning of the year we were one of the better cool-weather cars, but now we are very good when the tracks get warm and slippery. We let one get away in Dallas (with track temperatures topping at 312 degrees), but I think we'll be just fine this week in Phoenix (with ambient temperatures expected in the upper 90s)."

Just a dozen rounds remain in the season, and Beckman has his strategy set. He said, "We're in fifth place, less than three rounds out of first. If we win Phoenix, we jump right back into being one of the favorites. It's not do-or-die for us, like it is for the drivers in seventh to 10th places, but we can't afford to leave here without making up some ground on the top two cars. Our team is well aware of the implications of performing well in Phoenix -- and we aim to do so."

Beckman has won twice at Phoenix in the past four seasons. But he said being last year's winner means nothing this time, for conditions are different with the October date than they were with the traditional February spot in the schedule. The racing surface is expected to be improved. And this race falls smack in the middle of the Countdown.

"I'm excited about what Tim Richards can do with this car," NAPA Dodge Charger driver Ron Capps said about his crew chief. Then he predicted, "I think we'll see a return to the top three in qualifying and look forward to this race and the last two of the year.

"It's supposed to be very hot this weekend, which is a challenge for all crew chiefs," Capps said. "I'm lucky to have someone with the experience of Tim, which I think makes a real difference on a hot track. Several of the cars in front of us in the Countdown are very good in cool conditions. Tim has shown we are good in the heat. I hear we'll have heat like Dallas, which seems to warrant a crew chief able to get a car down a tricky track, and I have one in Tim Richards."

He said, "We can't approach this race like its do or die. Tim knows how to approach each run, knowing we need to pick up a couple of rounds at each race on the guys in front of us. We need a weekend like Dallas." There he gained 50 points on Mike Neff, the leader at the time.

Pedregon understands why Capps is so high on Richards. Even after defeating the Capps-Richards team in the final round at the Texas Motorplex, Pedregon said of Richards, "He's really an icon. He's a savvy veteran." He said he knew he had to run well against that team "or the General will hand us our lunch."

With help from John Force racing mate Mike Neff, who lost his lead in the course of the Reading weekend, Hight is rejuvenated.

"We knew coming in [to Reading] this was our last-chance race. 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," Hight said.

"Then I have that monkey on my back from last year, when we didn't win a single round in the Countdown," the 2009 Funny Car champion said. "We had won four races before that, and then in the Countdown to lose eight races in a row in first round. We have been struggling -- that is no secret. Jimmy [Prock] 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."

Then he said something that ought to scare his rivals: "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."

Hagan said he didn't think Phoenix, with its wilting conditions and untested new surface, would be a place that many teams would go for the national elapsed-time record and its valuable 20 points. Just the same, he isn't at all smug about his points lead.

"The most important thing, for me, is to be humble. We have the points lead, but we've had it before and been smacked in the face before," Hagan said. "You can come to reality really quickly. We don't have a big lead, which can change in qualifying. We just have to be consistent and be good."

He said. "It will definitely be a role of the dice for the first lap or two. After the initial passes, the crew chiefs should be able to dial in a tune up and setup a baseline for Sunday. The small (qualifying) points are huge, but getting down the track for four rounds on Sunday is a lot more important."

That echoed what Pedregon had said in Dallas.

"That first lap Friday is so important, setting up everything for the next sessions," Hagan said. "You get in to the field in that first round, it lets you try things in later rounds both to improve your position and get ready for race day.

"I don't think a lot of folks will take a shot this week at running a 3.99. The best way to approach this race is be conservative," he said.

Conservative might not be Bob Tasca's style this weekend. After all, his own birthday is Friday and his father's 60th birthday is Sunday. So with his quest for the perfect birthday gift for them both, the Funny Car standings could see a scramble.

FATHER KNOWS BEST - Morgan Lucas is banking on the idea that father knows best.

The Top Fuel dragster driver admitted he was taken aback when his father, Forrest Lucas, informed him that he and his co-crew chiefs would assume the tuning duties on the Geico-sponsored dragster for the indefinite future.

Even though Lucas has yet to win his first round, admittedly he and the team are past their fear of failure. Three first round losses and a DNQ certainly aren’t justification for a celebration, but after qualifying in the top half of the field, 8th in Reading, Lucas is encouraged.

“I am actually enjoying it,” Lucas said of the additional role. “It has been a learning curve we are still navigating. Myself, John DeFilippis and Richard Crampton have all learned how to put our heads together with the final decision coming through me. It’s been interesting to say the least. I kind of want to keep doing it. I really haven’t learned all of the ins and outs of it but we have been able to make some good runs. We’ve made some bad ones too but we’ve learned from them. The good part is that we’ve learned from the good ones too.

“The two runs we made in Reading [on Saturday] … the first run would have been better than the one we qualified with. It blew out a spark plug and it got oil under the tires and spun the tires out and it looked like it was on fire because there was fuel and oil on the exhaust. It looked worse than it really was. Most of my frustration has been with the way things have gone on race day. We just have to put ourselves in a better position. We qualified in the top half [in Reading] and we didn’t do that a lot this year. It shows we are making progress. We just backed it down too much in the first round and it’s a lesson learned.”

Lucas understands he’s a long way away from being remotely considered as an effective tuner but he’s learning. In the early years of the sport, many of the leading tuner/drivers could tune their rides by the seat of their pants.

“I wouldn’t say the tuning decisions are being felt in the seat, but I will say that I have a lot better understanding of what I feel now,” said Lucas. “I have a better understanding of what affects what and why. We’ve just been taking baby steps. Right now, we are just trying to keep from beating ourselves. I am starting to understand better what the car is trying to tell me during the course of a run, why it shook at this point and so on. Was it an aggressive shake or a weak one? There are so many details when it comes to tuning.”

He’s had to alter other details in his normal race day regimen.

“I have had to scale back the time I spend with the fans,” Lucas said. “I have kind of dove head first into the tuning challenge and I want to learn as much as I can. I’m not so naïve that I believe I will learn this all overnight. Eventually I will get back to my routine of signing autographs and being able to spend time with the fans.”

Lucas said he and his father will evaluate the progress made at the end of the season. He’s not ruling out the team will continue on the same path nor is he in denial that they might bring in a tuner and chalk this path up to experience.

“We’ve worked with so many people and probably didn’t give adequate time probably to get things worked out,” Lucas explained. “And at the same time we feel like we’ve given a lot of time to people. [Dad] knows I have paid a lot of attention and sometimes you have to try something completely out of the box. Sometimes old school attitudes and approaches don’t pan out. My dad is a self-made man and has worked hard to get to where he is and this is my opportunity to make my own path.”

Lucas trusts his father’s experience as a successful businessman for this one.

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