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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK

 

SCHUMACHER ROLLS TO 80TH VICTORY, BACK INTO TOP FUEL POINTS LEAD - When they pulled to the starting line Sunday afternoon for the final Top Fuel round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Route 66 Nationals, Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon represented a combined 141 victories, 248 money-round appearances, and 11 series championships.

So this rematch of the showdown at Epping, N.H., four weeks ago – their 82nd head-to-head faceoff – represented the two most successful racers in the sport's marquee class.

And Schumacher had the upper hand on the Route 66 Raceway 1,000-foot course, recording his 80th victory to become the only five-time Top Fuel winner at the Joliet, Ill., venue.

He also took the lead in the standings, passing Antron Brown for a 20-point edge as the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series takes a 12-day layoff then begins the Western Swing July 24 at Denver.  

With a 3.844-second, 320.20-mph pass in the U.S. Army Dragster, Schumacher claimed his third victory in five finals this season. He ensured Don Schumacher Racing its first nitro-class double-up at Chicago since 2003 and 49th total, following Tommy Johnson's Funny Car victory.
 
Schumacher and Johnson shared the winners circle with Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
 
Dixon made it close for awhile until his engine dropped a cylinder and let go. The C&J Energy / Total Equipment and Services Dragster driver posted a 3.932, 298.93, denied his first victory since the Oct. 16, 2011, Countdown event at Phoenix. (That was 85 races ago, although funding searches forced Dixon to sit out 21 of the 71 races that made up the past three seasons.)

It was his fifth runner-up finish in this year (with two to Schumacher and three to Richie Crampton).

For Tony Schumacher, it capped a wild homecoming for the fan favorite who grew up in Park Ridge, lived several years in Long Grove, and just last year moved to Austin, Texas. He started by beating buddy and former neighbor T.J. Zizzo, of Lincolnshire, then eliminated JR Todd and – by eight-10,000ths of a second, about five inches – Dave Connolly.

"There's no easy races," Schumacher said. "When you get to go out there and have that kind of a moment [like he did against highly regarded class rookie Connolly], that's pretty special.  . . . Then have to race a three-time champ in Dixon . . .  

"Just proud to be in the position we're in. When you get in that last round and you're dead-tied for first place with Antron Brown and you know that if you win you take the points lead, that's a big moment," he said. "And our car, the U.S. Army car, has been the big-moment car of the century. [Funny Car's John] Force has won a lot of races, but we've been the big-moment car, period. When we've had to win and it positively had to be done, we've done that. We're good at that - we're great at that."

As he has said in speeches to out-of-the-industry groups, "You've got to be great every day. You've got to be better than that some days. Today was that day, where we just had to be better. We didn’t see the conditions all weekend that we were going to race in today. So the group had to go back and look at data from the past. They had to look at what we've done this year in similar situations and pull from that info. And that makes it a lot harder. But the crew chiefs did a great job. It looks like the driver did it, but the crew had to make a car that was capable of doing that, and they've designed a great car for me. My crew chief knows how to do this."

Teams have just five races remaining before the Countdown starts in the return to Charlotte. And Schumacher said regaining the points lead he lost to Brown at the Atlanta race was "huge."

Said Schumacher, "It wasn't so much the point lead that I was concerned with. There's a lot of guys right behind us. And distancing yourself from them and letting me and Antron battle it out, that's great. They're both DSR cars. We get into that Countdown, and I'd love to have that 30-point lead."

 Schumacher's 80th victory put him just five behind Pro Stock icon Bob Glidden, who is No. 3 on the NHRA's all-time, all-pro-classes list.

Don Schumacher said his son's place in history will be superb.

"He's the best. The only guy that I have to say that is better than my son is Don Garlits. Beyond that, he's the best driver, the winningest driver, the most championships . . . he set every record there is. How else can I look at it?" the team owner said. "But Don Garlits, he will always be the Big Daddy of this sport, and don’t let anybody ever take it away from him. It's kind of the same way over on the Funny Car side. Matt Hagan's doing a phenomenal job. Tommy Johnson is doing a phenomenal job. Ron Capps, all of my guys, are doing a great, great job. But there's no other John Force. There's only one John Force. He is THE best Funny Car driver in this sport. I make no bones about it. We love competing against him."

He said he never dreamed his son would drive a Top Fuel dragster, let alone amass 80 victories, the most ever in the class – especially not with his sketchy start and Don Schumacher's comfortable position as a retired drag racer.

"He couldn’t drive on the street and went from that to an alcohol car, then to a jet dragster, then from that to an Alcohol Funny Car before he spent all of the money he could get from me and his mom and running up his credit cards," Don Schumacher said.

"He blew it up at Martin, Mich., and I said, 'That's it. He's done and finished.' And the Peek Brothers just happened to be looking for a driver. I never thought in a thousand years Tony would be able to go out and get that job," his father said. "He went out and got the job driving the Peek Brothers car. That carried him for almost two years, then they had to start parking their stuff. And I was able to put a sponsorship together with Exide Batteries. It's kind of been a roll since then. I just wanted Tony in the best car I could put him in, the safest car I could put him in. And that's what he has today – the best and the safest car out here, bar none."

And Sunday, it happened also to be the most successful . . . for the 80th time. Susan Wade

TOMMY JOHNSON JR. GRABS CHICAGO FUNNY CAR TITLE - Tommy Johnson Jr. had a career-best season a year ago – finishing third in the NHRA’s nitro Funny Car standings.

This weekend, he proved once again he’s a driver who can’t be overlooked in the championship hunt.

Johnson, who drives the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger for Don Schumacher Racing, captured his first win of 2015 by defeating his DSR teammate and reigning world champ Matt Hagan in the finals.

Johnson clocked a 4.259-second time at 245.27 mph to upend Hagan who slowed to 12.646 seconds after smoking the tires when he hit the throttle.

“The days you win, you get up and you feel it and you know you’re going to win,” Johnson Jr. said. “I woke up (Sunday morning) and I thought we had a car to beat. We are going to win this race. We’ve had a really good car and we’ve performed well, but we just couldn’t get the breaks to go our way. We kind of beat ourselves a couple of times with some mistakes and I have to hand it to the guys, they kept working. Everybody stepped up.”

Johnson qualified No. 4 and proceeded to defeat Brian Stewart, his DSR teammate Jack Beckman and No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon before ousting Hagan in the finals. This was Johnson’s ninth career nitro Funny Car national event victory and his first at Chicagoland Speedway. Johnson last Funny Car victory was at Bristol, Tenn., in June of 2014.

“John (Collins, Johnson’s crew chief) made some really nice calls (Sunday), and I’m really proud of him,” Johnson said. “He’s a second-year crew chief and he’s really learning and coming along nicely.”

One of Collins best calls Sunday came when he had Johnson Jr. switch from the right lane to the left lane in the finals.

“I was wondering what are we going over there for (to the left lane), but as it showed it was an excellent call,” Johnson said. “He saw something he didn’t like and we moved over to the left lane and I’m really happy for him and all the guys on the team. I’m just thrilled to get that win out of the way.”

Johnson came to Chicago sixth in the point standings, and his top finish before Sunday was a runner-up effort to John Force at Epping, N.H. Hagan also was 4-0 in final rounds this season, but that number wasn’t a point of focus for Johnson.

“With live TV, it is interesting because you are hustling between rounds,” Johnson said. “We got the benefit of an oil down and Hagan was a little bit behind us because they had a delay. We got in the lanes and he wasn’t there yet and it is was time to get in the car, so I jumped in the car and I never saw Matt. You have to do your own thing. I’ve been doing (this) long enough and I’ve tried every way there is and I’ve lost it every way there is and you have to do your own thing and just worry about your lane, you can’t control the other side. You can’t try harder. You just have to go up there and do what you can do. They have a good car and right now they are No. 1, and they are tough, and I knew we had a challenge, but I felt confident that my guys could do it.”

Johnson acknowledged he’s truly grateful to be piloting a DSR nitro Funny Car.

“You have to work for it,” Johnson said. “I don’t have anything to bring to the table, all I have is my talent and I try and work and do a good job and I work hard and try and do everything the right way. I just try to outwork everybody. I cherish every moment and it’s very special to me to win a race like this.” Tracy Renck

ALLEN JOHNSON RETURNS TO PRO STOCK WINNER’S CIRCLE - Back in 2012, Allen Johnson captured his lone NHRA Pro Stock world championship.

The last two-plus seasons his name seems to have gotten lost in the championship conservation, most recently because of the performance of his good friend Erica Enders-Stevens.

Well, no one was better than Johnson at the Lucas Oil Route 66 Nationals near Chicago this past weekend.

Johnson claimed his first victory of 2015 and first at Chicago when he edged fellow veteran Larry Morgan in the final round.

Johnson clocked a 6.624-second lap at 209.88 mph to defeat Morgan’s 6.667-second run.

“The team has just really been digging these last three or four races, and we pretty much have a handle on the issues that plagued us all the first of the year,” Johnson said. “So, I think we had a better car the last couple of races than we showed, but we had some bad luck. (Sunday) the team went out and really dug in and we were able to make consistent runs even when the heat came out there in the final we were able to get a hold of the track a little bit better than our opponent and pull off the win.”

This was Johnson’s 25th win of his career and first since he won the 2014 Mile-High Nationals last July in Denver. Johnson was making his third final round appearance of 2015 as he lost at Englishtown, N.J., and Epping, N.H., both times to Greg Anderson.

The win couldn’t have come at a better time for Johnson as the next race on the schedule is the Mile-High Nationals July 24-26. A race Johnson has won six times (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014).

“I had confidence coming into here (Chicago),” Johnson said. “This will give us a little more confidence, and we are going out there (Denver) the next couple of days and hopefully we can show off in front of all the Mopar, Magneti Marelli folks and make all those guys happy again.”

Johnson left Chicago seventh in the points standings – seven points behind sixth-place Morgan. He qualified No. 7 and beat Bo Butner, Chris McGaha, Anderson and then Morgan.

“We’ve done well here in Chicago, but this is our first win here and one of the few tracks we’ve never won at,” Johnson said. “That’s another little notch in the belt for the Mopar gang and hopefully we can take that the rest of the year and flip flop last year when we really sucked at the end of the year and this year we sucked at the first of the year. Now, we are going to turn up the heat a little bit.” Tracy Renck

ARANA JR. ZOOMS IN TOWARD BIKE LEAD WITH COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORY - Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Hector Arana Jr. already had set the track record Friday but was looking for more this weekend during qualifying for the NHRA Lucas Oil Route 66 Nationals at Joliet, Ill.

He started sixth, the fourth time in five races that he has been sixth or better in the order. But after qualifying ended on a soggy Saturday night he said, "It's not where I wanted it, but the bike still has really good power. We're No. 1 in the back half and we set the speed record for the track, so the bike is good. As long as we get the bike to leave the line – and I'm pretty sure we've got it figured out – we should be golden."

Arana and his Lucas Oil Buell team got the bike off the starting line Sunday, all right. He even scored a holeshot victory in the quarterfinals against Jerry Savoie to advance.

And he definitely was golden.

He had the gleaming Wally trophy to prove it after earning his second straight victory at Route 66 Raceway, his first since the 2014 finale at Pomona, Calif., and his 10th overall.

Arana did it by overtaking Matt Smith, who also was making his first final-round appearance of the season, to win by 0.0076 of a second, or about two feet. His 6.918-second elapsed time at 194.66 mph nipped Smith's 6.957, 190.24, although Smith had the better reaction time on the launch (.039 of a second to Arana's .071).

Smith, aboard the Victory Factory Racing Gunner, was seeking his first victory since the Oct. 27, 2013, race at Las Vegas.

"What a sigh of relief that was," Arana said at the top end of the racetrack after becoming the class' fifth different winner in six events this year. "At the last second I passed him. It's an awesome feeling.

"Definitely this is one of my favorite tracks. It's a great track – I love the facility. They've got a nice fishing hole out back," he said, referring to the lake that runs the length of the staging lanes. "Every night we go fishing, and we go racing. And it’s a blast."

He ran his record against Smith to 3-0 in final-round meetings.

"We are ready," Arana had declared Saturday night, even though he said he had wanted that rained-out run "to at least make a hit and see if we were going to be good as far as our clutch goes."

He need not have worried. He left LE Tonglet at the Christmas tree to win in the first round, polished off Tonglet's fellow Louisiana native Savoie, then cruised to a free semifinal triumph when Chaz Kennedy fouled at the start.

Smith reached the final past Gainesville and Norwalk winner Karen Stoffer, winless points leader Eddie Krawiec, and top qualifier Chip Ellis, who broke a crankshaft and couldn't compete in the semifinal.

"We had the bike," Arana said. "I knew we had the bike all weekend, but we couldn’t get it to leave the line good and [to the] 60 foot [mark] well. So we finally figured it out for the last [qualifying] session. We made a change. We didn’t get to make that last pass [Saturday night], but we felt good about it. So maybe it was a good thing we didn’t make that last pass, because we didn’t change anything. We went with our gut instinct for the first round. And from then on out, we didn't touch it and we went consistently down the track."

Still, his back-to-back performance at Joliet was no sure thing, he said.

"If anything, it's harder to win the race because I feel like you put extra pressure on yourself because you want to repeat," Arana said. "This weekend I tried not to worry about that and I tried to go one round at a time, but if I said I wasn't nervous I'd be lying to you. Every time they called us up, I felt butterflies in my gut. I had to take some deep breaths to relax, because I knew I had the Lucas Oil bike to do it."
 
Even so, confidence is a trademark for the 26-year-old who just moved to New York's Long Island from Southern Indiana.
 
"I knew we were going to get it done," Arana said. "We had a couple little hiccups here and there. All that matters is that we get the bike ready for the Countdown. We got at least one victory this year, and hopefully there's many more to come. 

"It's really awesome. This is my fourth year racing, and to be able to have 10 wins in four years is great. I'm sure there are a lot of people who can't say that. It's pretty exciting to have that even number now," he said. "Now we've just got to go for 11."

He'll have his chance when the Western Swing opens July 24 at Denver's Bandimere Speedway. Susan Wade

TOP RACEDAY TAKEAWAYS

ONE LANE BLACKTOP – Whether by coincidence or inequality, the nitro cars fared better in the right lane. Seven of eight races in the first round of Top Fuel came from the right side, while in Funny Car six of the eight winners were in the right side.

Pat Dakin was the lone Top Fuel winner when Brittany Force fouled. In the Funny Cars, Jack Beckman won from the left side when Courtney Force’s engine went sour.

NITRO IS FROM MARS, PRO STOCK FROM VENUS – While nitro racing was more tuned into the right lane, Pro Stock was the opposite with the majority of winners grabbing victories in the left lane.

THAT DIDN’T WORK OUT SO WELL – While the Monster Energy team watched the Safety Safari clean up after an oildown, crew chief Todd Smith made the call for his team to make some adjustments to the wing.

“The track got hotter when the sun came out,” Brittany Force’s crew chief Todd Smith explained. “We had the wing trimmed down for a lot better track conditions. We were hoping to create more downforce by doing that.”

Smith said the most benefit would have likely come 300 feet into the run.

“It may be unusual for some teams but I do it quite a bit,” Todd continued. “It’s usually done back in the lanes and no one sees it.”

The move was for naught as Brittany rolled the beams early, lighting the red bulb.

“I knew I had a red-light coming one of these days,” Brittany said. “It’s inevitable. It sucks that it happened on a race where we would have won. I screwed the whole team and that blows. I really have an awesome team. They have all pulled me aside to tell me to keep my head up.

THAT DIDN’T WORK OUT SO WELL, PT 2 – Ron Capps’ crew chief Rahn Tobler made the decision to move Capps from the favored right lane over to the left after Courtney Force’s right lane engine failure and subsequent clean-up. Matt Hagan took advantage of a favored lane to run low elapsed time of the first round with a 4.044 elapsed time.

LENGTHY ROUND – Parts attrition threw the schedule behind early on race day. There were 37 minutes worth of downtime in the first round alone.

NEVER A GOOD THING – Alexis DeJoria learned the hard way in her first round loss to John Force, a reaction time which starts with a .3 second reading, doesn’t translate into a high winning potential.

“Going into the first round, I was really calm and focused and I went in there and staged a little too quickly,” DeJoria explained. “I was trying to take a good chunk out of the pre-stage light and ended up turning on both bulbs, which threw me off my game, and the tree came down pretty quickly. Force staged quick and the tree came down quick and the next thing you know, the three amber bulbs are on and it’s time to go and I was a day late. I threw myself off my game, not intentionally, of course. I’m not one of those drivers that goes up there and tries to play games. I raced my race and I don’t pull any punches out there, but it’s really tough when you go out there and you get one chance to be perfect and you throw an interception, so to speak.”

DeJoria, as competitive as she is, will do her best to close this chapter and move on.  

"I’m trying to shake it off,” DeJoria said. “We’ve had a tough year; it’s been up and down. Sometimes it’s me, sometimes it’s the car. One of these days soon the stars will align and it’s going to be awesome and we’re going to go rounds again and do good things. I’m sorry to my team. I love those guys. They gave me a hell of a car, which adds insult to injury for me, but at least we know what the problem was today, and it was definitely driver.”

CONNOLLY WINS – Dave Connolly might be in his rookie season as a Top Fuel driver but in his first round match against Richie Crampton, his team’s starter mount broke. Instead of panicking, Connolly was calm as his team got the car started and performed a short burnout. Connolly was first off the line and captured the win.

Connolly eventually reached the semis, losing to a Tony Schumacher holeshot.

500 WINS FOR DEL – Del Worsham made personal history during the first round as he scored career round win No. 500. The victory was memorable for Worsham as he won on a holeshot, 4.091 to 4.070, by beating Robert Hight.

“It is a huge accomplishment to hit the 500 win mark,” said Worsham. “Robert Hight is a great competitor with his own history in the sport. We have faced each other for many years, and he is a great driver, so to get it against him is even more special.”

KEVIN LAWRENCE – Kevin Lawrence, a low budget Pro Stock driver from nearby Palos Hills, Ill., scored a personal milestone when he qualified for his first race in 20 years in trying. Lawrence runs a Chevrolet Cobalt with Warren Johnson power.

SEVENTH TIME IS THE CHARM – Division 2 [Southeast] scored its seventh Jegs All-Stars crown after beating Division 3 [North Central] in a tiebreaker. The Western Region beat the Central Region for the Regional Jegs All-Star crown.

The Jegs All-Stars were eliminated down to the finals when rains postponed Saturday’s event over to Sunday.

SMOKIN’ – Tony Schumacher admitted his car went nowhere when he hit the throttle during his second-round match against JR Todd. It was the US Army driver who got his dragster to recover first and won despite a pedestrian 5.37 second pass.

 “I might have been about three-quarters on the throttle when I went across the finish line,” Schumacher admitted.

THE DOG CAN STILL HUNT – Larry Morgan showed he still has the goods as in the semis he used an .006 reaction to beat Erica Enders, 6.630 to 6.625. 

 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK

SATURDAY’S TOP TAKEAWAYS

JEGGIE’S BACK - Pro Stock Jeggie is back, at least on a limited basis.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Pro Stock team owner Richard Freeman announced Saturday at the Lucas NHRA Route 66 Nationals that the five-time Pro Stock champion will drive a second car for Elite Performance at the NHRA national events in Sonoma, Calif., Seattle, and Indianapolis. Coughlin will run the Rick Jones-built Camaro that Erica Enders raced to the world title last season.

"Jeg and I have been friends for years, and this is something we've talked about from time to time," Freeman said. "The situation presented itself where he could jump in Erica's backup car and have some fun with us on the Western Swing and at Indy, so I called him up to see if he'd be interested. He was, and we're planning on winning some races together."

The car will remain in full Elite Motorsports trim, compete with sponsorship branding from Elite Performance, Stockseth Racing, and Ray Skillman Chevrolet. Drew Skillman, who drives the team's Ray Skillman Chevrolet entry, is skipping the events in Sonoma and Seattle.

Coughlin's Camaro will be tuned by the existing trio of Rick and Rickie Jones and Mark Ingersoll.

JEGS ALL-STARS – The Jegs All-Star competition eliminated down to the finals before rain postponed the completion until Sunday morning. Currently Divisions Two and Three are tied for the divisional titles while the Central and Western regions are tied for the Regional crown.

DELAYED – The final day of qualifying was behind schedule before the professional categories took to the track. After a four-and-a-half hour delay, professional qualifying began 90 minutes late and only one session, and the Q-4 session of Pro Stock Bikes were completed before rain ended the day.

NHRA, SONOMA COVER FOR DEFAULTED MIRAMONTE SHOOTOUT PURSE – In an unpublicized scenario, the Miramonte Records Pro Bike Battle has been renamed as the NHRA Pro Bike Battle after the sponsor failed to meet their contractual obligations. NHRA informed the bike competitors last week in Norwalk the event will go on with NHRA and Sonoma Raceway paying a lesser purse.

This weekend’s event is the last opportunity for racers to earn points for the special race-within-a-race in Sonoma next month.

Eddie Krawiec shares the sentiment with his fellow racers that the NHRA is in a no-win situation, as are the racers.

“It’s certainly nothing anyone of us wanted,” said Krawiec, who is the No. 1 seed for the event. “The last thing we wanted to do was lose the opportunity to race for $25,000. We worked for this all year long. It’s not good for NHRA or our class. It’s not good for what happened to Miramonte. Everyone loses and the race was promoted as a $25,000 race all last year and this season. Now we are racing for a lot less money.”

SCHOOL IS IN SESSION - NHRA needed someone to take their drag racing fans to school, and TJ Zizzo was all too happy to oblige.

Before a temporary grandstand filled with race fans, the Chicago-based driver, along with NHRA Chief Announcer Alan Reinhart conducted a town hall style of drag racing education.

“Many years ago when we were doing hospitality I wanted to be able to invite fans into our hospitality area where they could sit, relax and watch us work on the car,” said Zizzo. “NHRA rules stipulate you cannot have the average fan just walk into your hospitality area. You have to have invited guests.

“Moving forward, the people from the track called and told me they were having a nitro school. NHRA then called and asked me to be the first. I have wanted to always do this, and educate the fans.”

The goal, according to NHRA VP of National Event Marketing Glenn Cromwell, is to educate fans more on the intricacies of what makes the nitro cars run three seconds at over 320 miles per hour.

This initiative follows the Baptism of Nitro program where first-time race fans are nominated by friends for a chance to experience nitro racing up close and personal on the starting line.

‘We wanted to look at ways we could increase the racing technical education of our core fans,” said Cromwell. “We wanted to provide a platform for them to come listen to one of our drivers in a presentation type forum.”
 

TOP FUEL

A-TO-B A.B. – Antron Brown will start No. 1 in Top Fuel at the Lucas Oil Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by General Tire after persistent rain cut short the second day of qualifying at Route 66 Raceway.

Brown powered his dragster to a track record 3.729-second pass at 323.58 mph Friday night that went uncontested during Saturday’s lone qualifying session. Brown, the 2012 world champ and current Top Fuel points leader, earned his 41st career No. 1 qualifier and fourth of the season. He will face Luigi Novelli on Sunday.

“Our focus is to go out there and do a nice, good lap,” said Brown, the defending winner of this event. “We have to do our job going down the race track. These competitors and these teams are doing their homework and that’s what makes you wake up in the morning and want to go out there and compete because you know how tough it is. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

MONSTER PERFORMANCE – Brittany Force finished qualifying as the second quickest.

“I definitely feel very good about this weekend,” she said. “Last year at this track we went all the way to the final.  I feel like my Monster Energy team is kind of on fire. To be able to run 3.74 and then step up to a 3.73 is pretty impressive. That run was one thousandth off my quickest official run,” said Force, who has raced to five final rounds. “We are always aiming to run quicker but it is a struggle. We lost our last run to the rain showers but everyone did so we only got three runs to work with. We made two out of three awesome runs and that makes us the No. 3 qualifier. I have a good feeling about tomorrow.”

Force will face veteran driver Pat Dakin in the first round for the second consecutive race. She has a 1-1 record versus the driver from Dayton, Ohio.

A SWING AND A MISS - Clay Millican, for at least one weekend, was part of the Chicago White Sox team.

Millican, who missed Saturday’s field when rain cut qualifying short, made his Top Fuel driving debut behind the wheel of a dragster sponsored by the major league baseball team during the inaugural NHRA Route 66 Nationals during the 1998 season in Joliet.

“That was a crazy couple of weeks,” Millican said. “I was fortunate enough that Peter Lehman wanted to put me in a Top Fuel car.”

Millican went to the Paul Smith Drag Racing School, where he earned his fuel license and within a week was in talks with Bruce Litton to rent a Top Fuel operation. However, the plan just didn’t work out for obvious reasons.

“If you’ve seen me and then seen Bruce, then you’d know I’d need a lot of phone books to fit in his seat,” Millican admitted. “Bruce being the guy he is went out and found us a truck, trailer and equipment to rent. Bruce and his crew brought it to Chicago for us.”

The operation belonged to Barbara and Donnie Holbrook.

“Peter Lehman had put together a one-race sponsorship with the Chicago White Sox,” said Millican. “I only had my license days before the event.”

Millican put the car on display at the White Sox stadium prior to the event, and even though he failed to qualify, the experience wasn’t without a measure of excitement. He was the first Top Fuel car on the track for the event and the experience was a forgettable one for Millican.

“Yep, did my infamous reverse burnout,” Millican said of the car smoking the tires in reverse. “I don’t think I will ever live it down. But thank goodness Richard Hartman was standing there when I hit the throttle and was able to shut the car off.

 

FUNNY CAR

CRUZ IN CONTROL – Cruz Pedregon earned his fourth number one qualifier of the season with his 3.966-second run on Friday night. He matches Matt Hagan as the only drivers in Funny Car history to run a 3-second pass at four different races in a season.  Pedregon has now qualified in the top three six times in the last seven events.

“Everything is just starting to jell on our Snap-on Tools Camry right now,” said Pedregon, who set a new track record with his qualifying run. “We’re proving we can run fast at every track we go to and it’s coming at a good time of year as we get closer to the Countdown.  And we’re thrilled to take number one qualifier at Snap-on’s home track as they celebrate their 95th anniversary.”

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - Nothing puts an exclamation on an anniversary quite like a paint scheme. In honor of Cruz Pedregon's primary sponsor San-on Tools reaching 95-years, the two-time NHRA series champion is running a commemorative scheme as officials from the nearby Kenosha, WI.-based headquarters will be at the track tomorrow.

Pedregon will travel to Kenosha after the weekend and hopes he can bring with him a victory.

“I’d love nothing more than to have a Wally from the race here this weekend to show off at the Snap-on headquarters Wednesday when we have the show car there for the company’s 95th celebration,” says Pedregon. “They’ve been with me since I won my first Funny Car world championship back in 1992, and I’m grateful for their trust, loyalty to my team and me, and all the great franchisees…especially the ones I ride-along with along the NHRA route.”

Pedregon has had reasonable success in Chicago with a semifinal finish in 2009 and a No. 1 qualifier in 2005. 

OH HALE WHAT? – Neither John Hale nor John Bojec were in the Top 12 following Friday’s qualifying. During Saturday’s lone session, Hale crossed the centerline, taking out the timing cones for both lanes. NHRA procedure manual says in this instance the quicker time from Friday, although it wasn’t in the top 12, took precedence over Bojec’s no-time run on Saturday.

HERE’S THE STORY OF MAN NAMED BRADY - Who knew Peter Brady was a drag racing fan? Evidently Tim Wilkerson did because the actor who played the fictional middle child on the Brady Bunch was at Route 66 on Saturday. 

"The day was way better than just that, though,” said Wilkerson. “We had Dick Levi in the house, along with about 120 of his invited guests, and one of them was Christopher Knight, who played Peter Brady on 'The Brady Bunch'. What a nice guy he is, and he was so gracious and accessible to everyone in our pit. Just a lot of fun to meet him and have a chance to talk about NHRA Drag Racing, which he absolutely loves. Cool deal. He stayed right to the end, and he was disappointed he didn't get to see us run again. I think we have the newest Wilk Warrior, right there."

NO TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE - It's a good thing Matt Hagan knows how to hit a curveball, because the defending world champion and current point leader is facing one.

The qualifying format for this weekend's event is unique in the format teams will have four qualifying sessions in the late afternoon and evening before racing in the heat of the day on Sunday. Adding to this challenge, will be a torrid between rounds pace on raceday because of a live television format.

Hagan also has what he considers a great hitting coach in crew chief Dickie Venables.

"This qualifying format is definitely tough on crew chiefs that have to make calls on Sunday in conditions they hadn't raced in qualifying," said Hagan. "We've got a good track record at Chicago, and I wouldn't want anyone else making calls on this Mopar Dodge Charger R/T than Dickie Venables. Dickie has definitely proven himself this year and in the past at Chicago. I'm happy he's in my corner."

Hagan, a three-time Chicago winner, has four event titles through 12 events this season and a six-round points lead over teammate Ron Capps, who is second in standings.

"We just have to keep our heads down and stay focused and keep learning about this car. We're halfway through our year and Dickie and these guys are doing an outstanding job and every time I crawl into this car I feel like we can win."

HEAD TO RUN FULL WESTERN SWING - Dad wanted to go fishing so Chad Head saw this as the perfect opportunity to race the NHRA’s Western Swing. The second-generation Funny Car driver, who qualified third for Sunday’s final eliminations with a 3.991, will race the Mopar Mile High Nationals for the first time in his career.

“He wants to go fishing in Denver, Seattle and Sonoma, so I will get to race,” Head said. “Dad hasn’t raced in Denver for a while but he’s smart enough, he’ll get it figured out.”

THAT’LL TEACH HIM – Keith “Rooman” Burgan, an Aussie transplant and Indianapolis-based chassis builder, decided he wanted to attend this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Route 66 Nationals, so he made the call to longtime friend and Funny Car racer Tony Pedregon to let him know if he needed help his services would be available.

Given an emphatic welcome, Burgan arrived in Joliet on Friday expecting a utility man role.

Pedregon’s crew chief and friend Tony Shortall immediately put Burgan’s expertise into action.

“I’m helping dive,” Burgan said with a smile. “They have a new guy working underneath and with my experience they felt it was best if I went under and gave him a hand.”

And Burgan’s teammate paid him an off-handed compliment of sorts.

“Yeah, they let me know I was the oldest diver in the history of diving on this planet,” the 67-year old Burgan said.

 

PRO STOCK

 

FIRST TIME FOR SKILLMAN - Drew Skillman drove to his first career No. 1 qualifier with a track record 6.528 at 201.97 in his Chevy Camaro on Friday. Skillman, a contender for the Auto Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, has made it to two final round appearances this year and is closing in on his first career victory. He will face Mark Hogan in the first round.

A COOL PLACE INDEED - Jason Line fell in love early with the beauty of Route 66 Raceway.

"I raced my Stocker there at the inaugural national event in 1998," recalled Line, who turned pro in 2003. "Right away, I thought, 'Wow, this is a cool place.' I remember being very impressed, and I think most people feel like that the first time they race there. It's still one of the nicest places we get to visit on the Mello Yello tour."

Line was unstoppable in Chicago early in his career. In fact, the very first Pro Stock trophy he earned was at Route 66 Raceway with teammate Greg Anderson in the other lane.

"I won three in a row there, starting with my first Pro Stock win in 2004. That was back when I was good," joked Line, now a 37-time winner in his Summit Racing Pro Stocker and a two-time world champion. "I like going there, and obviously I have some pretty good memories at that racetrack. No matter how tough a season seems to be going for me, I can usually go there and have a pretty good weekend. I definitely look forward to going there, and it's always fun because a lot of the Division 5 guys I used to race with are there, so we get to reconnect."

POSITIVE IN ADVERSITY - Vincent Nobile lost in the first round last weekend in Norwalk, but instead of pouting, he saw the positive aspects of the loss.

Nobile, this weekend's defending event winner, put together four strong qualifying runs before losing in the first round to Jason Line.

“Honestly, (Norwalk) was the first weekend where the car was where it should be,” Nobile said. “We made five really good, consistent runs. I’m confident with the car and we’re going to Chicago with the mindset that we’re going to turn the season around. This is my fifth year of racing and I always seem to do well at the beginning of the season and fizzle out toward the end. This year, hopefully I can turn it on at the end.”

Nobile sits in ninth place just 17 points ahead of Rodger Brogdon and 21 points ahead of No. 11 driver Jonathan Gray.

“Drag racing is an extremely humbling sport,” Nobile said. “But I’m confident in my team. Naturally we’re a little frustrated but we have a good team and I know we’ll bounce back. We’ve worked really hard on this car and we haven’t seen the results we’ve wanted, but we know it’s not for a lack of effort. I’m going to keep my head up and my team is going to keep their heads up, and we know success is right around the corner.”

 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

UPDATE ON THE NEW BUELL - Hector Arana tested in Norwalk, Ohio, on Monday, working on a new EBR body style, but despite making strides, he will continue to race the tried-and-true Lucas Oil bike.

"We've got the new EBR body style, so we've been working on that, trying to make sure it goes straight," Arana said. "We have made some improvements, but it's not perfect yet. Right at the 1,200-foot mark, it starts pulling hard again. There's still work to be done there.

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK

FRIDAY’S TOP TAKEAWAYS

TRACK RECORDS TAKE A BEATING – Track records fell in all four professional categories after two sessions. Both elapsed time and speed fell in Top Fuel and Pro Stock. Antron Brown snagged the elapsed time with a 3.729 by beating out Brittany Force’s 3.74, which also took out Tony Schumacher’s 3.760 in the first session. Pro Stock racer turned nitro pilot Dave Connolly was the king of speed with a 328.78 blast. Drew Skillman snagged the elapsed time mark in Pro Stock with a 6.528 while Greg Anderson topped the speed mark with a 211.83 mph run. 

In Funny Car, Cruz Pedregon made the new mark a 3.966 while Chip Ellis established a new mark in Pro Stock Bike with a 6.856.

SKILLS MAN – If rookie Pro Stock driver Drew Skillman’s provisional No. 1 holds, it will be his best qualifying effort since finishing No. 2 in Englishtown. 

“The track is in great condition this weekend,” said Skillman, who is also racing in Competition and Super Stock eliminators. “The track was good early and that gave us the confidence to take a swing at early. We still have tomorrow to go.”

Skillman believes the extra shots at the track can only help his pro efforts.

“I think seat time helps, period,” he said. 

 

ON THE OUTSIDE – Richie Crampton’s struggles continue. One week after missing the show in Norwalk, he’s on the outside after Friday’s initial sessions with a 3.902, the No. 13 spot. 

Crampton has won three times in 2014 and stands fourth in the Top Fuel points. Last weekend he failed to qualify in Norwalk. If the past provides a glimpse of the future, Crampton just might have a great weekend ahead of him. 

Crampton has a tendency to bounce back and cites the tough race at Atlanta Dragway earlier this year as a precedent.

"I believe we are good at quickly putting things behind us," Crampton said. "For instance, I red-lit in Atlanta, and then we went on to win the very next race in Topeka (Kan.). Personally, I'm good at moving on, and I think this entire team knows that was very uncharacteristic of us in Norwalk."

Crampton has won races in Las Vegas, Topeka, and Bristol, Tenn., this season and has qualified in the top three five times in 12 races.

BE THERE, BE THERE – There are four nitro racers in competition this weekend who raced at US 30 Dragway in Gary, Indiana, once the Chicago area’s premiere racing facility, known for its rambunctious crowd and major grandstand betting. 

Chris Karamesines, Pat Dakin, Luigi Novelli and John Force all made runs at the track where it was said to be safer inside of the race car than outside. 

“You know they used to bet heavily there and if someone lost a bet, he’d just shoot the guy he owed,” explained Dakin. “There were several shootings the night I was there. Paul Longnecker had a couple of bullets go through his trailer and one exploded a battery.”

Force won his first national event there, an AHRA event just before the facility located 30 miles east of Joliet, closed down.

“They loved their racing almost as much as their betting. You’d get back to the pits and someone would be there waiting to ask you, ‘you mean to win that race?” 

“It took me years later to understand why they asked me.”

TOP FUEL

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME - Home is where the heart is, and even though Tony Schumacher left Chicago for Austin, Texas, two years ago, he still considers the Windy City his home. 

The eight-time and defending Top Fuel world champion spent the first 42 years of his life living in the Chicagoland area and grew up idolizing all of the Chicago icons, from Dick Butkus and Walter Payton to Michael Jordon. And despite relocating he's as much a Chicago Blackhawks fan as he has ever been. 

“Without a doubt Chicago will always be where I’m from," Schumacher said. "My hometown. I have such great pride in being a Chicagoan. We’re ‘Chicago Tough,’ through and through. It’s always been special for me to race at Route 66. Chicago loves to see its own succeed. Winning here is such a big deal. Not only to me, but my dad and everyone in our family. "

Schumacher stands tied with the legendary Kenny Bernstein as the only four-time Top Fuel winners at Route 66 Raceway. His victories came in 2003, 2005, 2008 and most recently in June 2013. After qualifying second last year, Schumacher was knocked out in the first round.

A FISH TALE - The bass on the side of the Alan Johnson Toyota Top Fuel dragster was not as big as it appeared for the last seven races. Bass Pro Shops' affiliation with Toyota earned them a prime location on the dragster driven by Shawn Langdon.

“Our race team still needs a sponsor," said Langdon. "We’re really thankful that Toyota’s generosity is allowing us to race while we try to find a new primary sponsor.  Bass Pro Shops was on our car for the last few races as part of their relationship with Toyota.  Our car looked like we had full sponsorship, but we didn’t."

This weekend the AJR dragster carries the livery of Toyota and Knuckle Sandwich, the same combination it had in Pomona back in February when Langdon won his only race of the season. 

Langdon enters the Lucas Oil Route 66 NHRA Nationals in seventh place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings.  He trails sixth-place Spencer Massey by 56 points and leads eighth-place Brittany Force by 33 points.  

AJR has good mojo at Route 66 Raceway with three wins [2011, 2010, 2000] with previous drivers Del Worsham, Larry Dixon and Gary Scelzi.  

CAN A MAN GET A BREAK? - Two years and 50 races, that's how long it has been since Steve Torrence has visited an NHRA Winner's Circle.  Torrence admits his patience is wearing thin these days. 

Torrence is doing what he's supposed to in leaving on time and running strong. 

“We’ve run six of our 10 quickest ETs this season and look where we are,” Torrence said.  “Last week at Norwalk (Ohio), we had a car that was good enough to win like we have had most of the season.  Our first five runs, we averaged 3.78 seconds, but then we lost lane choice to Doug (No. 1 qualifier and eventual race winner Doug Kalitta), smoked the tires and that was it. 

“The competition is so good right now that you can’t make a single mistake because if you do whoever’s in the other lane is going to send you home,” he said.  “There are more good cars out here right now than I’ve ever seen and, yeah, it’s great to be competitive, but we don’t want to just be competitive, we want to win.”

With just six races before the playoff field is set, Torrence is 11th in the driver standings, 30 points (two rounds) behind Clay Millican.    

FUNNY CAR 

ALMOST – Chad Head was the only other driver able to get in the three-second zone as he pushed his Head Racing Toyota Camry to the second spot with a 3.991 at 318.17. He was followed by Tommy Johnson Jr. with a 4.003 at 316.15 in his Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger R/T. Courtney Force, last weekend’s runner up in Norwalk, was in the fourth spot while Ron Capps is currently qualified fifth. 

MAKE MINE A DOUBLE - Thursday evening in Chicago, Alexis DeJoria participated in the kind of sponsor-themed event she enjoys. The driver of the Patron XO Cafe Incendio-sponsored Funny Car spent a few hours bartending at Moe’s Cantina River North in downtown Chicago. 

"What a great venue Moe’s Cantina is," said DeJoria. "They’re a huge supporter of the Patrón Spirits Company. They have every one of our products there and I just had the best time behind the bar. I loved serving Patrón cocktails- particularly the ‘race-themed’ XO Cafe and XO Cafe Incendio cocktails- to our fans, and also introducing new fans to our sport. 

"It was a fun way to kick off the Route 66 NHRA Nationals race weekend and showcase the Patrón XO Cafe line."

BROKEN RECORD BECKMAN - For the last two years, Jack Beckman sounded like a broken record, talking about never knowing after a win if it would be your last. This year, he has tied a season-high three victories in nine races. 

"After going over two years without a win, I'd love to quote all of the sports psychology clichés, but sometimes you wonder: Was that the last win we are ever going to get?" Beckman said. "Now, I have three wins so far this year. I have never won more than three in a year. We may never win another one again, and we may win the next three. Either way, it is comforting to know that we have a car that is capable of winning every week.

"Man, what a year we're having. We went and won at Charlotte and that was bitchin' because it ended a 55-race winless streak. We went out and won Topeka with all of those delays for weather and made five three-second runs. Before we got to Norwalk our (fabrication) shop put a brand new front half on the (chassis) and with a completely different clutch configuration, and we win again.

"If this season turns out the way I think it can turn out, we have a lot to look forward to."

UNDER WILK'S WING - Brian Stewart is racing this weekend under the Tim Wilkerson Racing umbrella.

"Brian Stewart is here, driving the car my boy Daniel used to drive, and Daniel and my other son Kevin are working on his car," explained Tim Wilkerson. "I try to help out Brian as much as I can because he's a good guy trying to learn the ropes out here."

PRO STOCK

LIMITED SEASON DEFINED – Drew Skillman, who drives a Pro Stocker under the Elite Performance banner, confirmed his team will run a limited season in 2015 but with conditions.

“Right now we only plan to skip Sonoma and Seattle,” Skillman confirmed. “As long as it keeps going as well as it has, that’s all we will skip.”

THE STARTING POINT - The winning parade started here for Erica Enders three years ago. 

Enders, the only female driver to win an NHRA Pro Stock event, beat Greg Anderson to earn her place in drag racing history. 

"Chicago will always hold a special place in my heart," Enders admitted.

The wins have rolled in ever since Enders' monumental triumph. She has since rolled up a total of 16 career Pro Stock wins and stands as the defending series champion. She's also got a serious hometown advantage, kinda-sorta.

"It's the home track for two of my crew chiefs, Rick and Rickie Jones," Enders said. "How I feel about Houston, they feel about Chicago. We're going to do our best to get it done there."

HE DOES HAVE A POINT - Last season, Jonathan Gray made his debut in Gainesville and later that season had the opportunity to race in Chicago for the first time.
            
"You know, when I first saw it I thought it was a Bruton Smith facility, because that's about how his racetracks look – just the best of the best," said Gray. "It's a beautiful facility, and the racing surface is really good and smooth. It's just a nice place, and I think this year we're in a position to really have a good weekend there."

Gray was the No. 6 runner with a 6.551 after two sessions. 

TOUGH NUT TO CRACK - Greg Anderson got his first win at Chicago in 2011. And to hear Anderson tell the story, it was no easy feat to fight off the gremlins. 
 
"It took me a long time to get that trophy, but I finally did it in 2011," recalled Anderson. "I've always liked that place, but it was just crazy the way that one thing or another would happen and we just couldn't walk away with the Wally. I'm not usually the guy who worries about stats or keeping track of things like that, but when people keep asking you how come you can't win at a certain racetrack, it makes you feel bad. I finally accomplished that, and it's still one of our favorite racetracks. 

"Once you win somewhere once, you have to prove that you can do it there again. We've got 'em all at least once, now we have to find a way to get 'em all twice."
 
In the most recent six national events on the schedule, Anderson has been to the final round five times and picked up three trophies. So far this season, Anderson is a four-time winner in seven final rounds, beginning with the Gainesville win – the 75th of his career – that ended a dry spell dating back to Englishtown in 2012.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

CHANGING GEARS - Since winning the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in March, NHRA champion Andrew Hines' season has transformed into a forgettable one. If it's broke, you fix it and that's exactly what Hines and the Screamin' Eagle team believe they have done. 

In the past three events, Hines has a first-round loss and a second-round defeat last weekend in Norwalk, dropping him to third in points. He's not panicking, but it is evident something needed to change. .

“I’m confident with what we’ve done, but I can’t say what’s going to happen until we get to the track,” Hines said. “But it’s definitely outside the box.”

Hines didn't have an opportunity to test the changes before headed to Route 66 Raceway. 

“This season has definitely been subpar,” Hines said. “We got the Four-Wide win and got that win early and that had everyone pumped up. But we’ve been struggling since then. I wish I could put my finger on it but it’s been tough. We’re trying all kinds of different stuff but haven’t been able to solve it yet.

“We’re not getting worse, but we’re not getting any better right now,” Hines said. “The class has definitely stepped up. The Aranas have been fast and they still are, but we should be capable of going fast as well. It’s been frustrating not seeing the win lights but I know everyone at the shop is working hard to get this figured out as soon as possible.”

FATHER WASN’T THE BEST - For Lucas Oil Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr., last year's Lucas Oil Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway was perfect -- almost.

Arana raced his son Hector Jr. in the final round last year and got the better of him on the Christmas tree, but Hector Jr. had the better bike and got around his dad. Still, it was a wonderful day for Arana Racing.

"Everything was great except the outcome," Arana said with a laugh. "If it was switched to my side, that would be icing on the cake."

Last year's race was the first time father and son raced each other for a Wally, and for Arana the race was already won when the two Lucas Oil bikes pulled into the water box.

"I went to the final with no pressure," Arana said. "It was a win for me already. I did have the better reaction, but he did come around me. I went for it. I just can't wait to get to the final again with Hector. That's what I would love to do."

Arana has scored a victory this season, at Atlanta Dragway, and is fifth in the Pro Stock Motorcycle points standings. The 2009 champion has qualified seventh or better at four of the five races in 2015 and has also won at least one round in three races.

THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - KAMPLAIN, UNROH AND CAGNAZZI PACE FIRST DAY NHRA ROUTE 66 NATS SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING

LEADERS OF THE PACK - Comp Eliminator racer Greg Kamplain led first-day qualifying amongst the sportsman division qualifiers at the Lucas Oil NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.

Kamplain, after two sessions, was the furthest under his B/Econo Dragster index when he ran a -.647, 6.823 to edge out Robert Bailey, who was .003 behind at -.644 under the A/Econo Dragster standard.

Phil Unroh was the king of the hill in Super Stock after two sessions with a -.989 performance. Unroh's SS/C Modified Cobalt ran an 8.511 elapsed time to edge Bill Skillman's -.985 effort.

Former Pro Stock team owner and engine builder Victor Cagnazzi paced the provisional Stock Eliminator qualifying. Cagnazzi, running a Factory Showdown/E COPO Camaro was the furthest under his index of the three leading Factory Showdown entries. Cagnazzi ran a 9.881, -1.069 to edge out Don Fezell (FS/A, -1.068, 8.632) and Bruno Massel (FS/A, -1.046, 8.654).

Top Dragster was led by Shanna Snyder, whose 6.049, 225.67 provided a sizeable lead over No. 2 Davie Connolly. Just like Snyder, Top Sportsman low qualifier Eric Burnett had over a tenth of a second over No. 2 runner Lester Johnson.

SCARY MOMENT - Super Stock racer Steve Hoff's weekend got off to a bad start and finish. The Super Stock/A Stock racer from Waukegan, WI., experienced a huge wheelstand before his 1990 Mustang came smashing down to the ground. The impact damaged the engine, spraying oil underneath the tires and the out of control Super Stocker impacted both retaining walls before coming to a rest upside down.
Hoff was visibly shaken but didn't appear to suffer any injuries.

A SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE - For the 31st consecutive year, the best racers from NHRA's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will make their way to Route 66 Raceway for this weekend's prestigious JEGS Allstars competition.

Drivers representing 29 states and two Canadian provinces have earned the right to compete in the JEGS Allstars race, which pits drivers from each of NHRA's seven geographic regions in a competition that rewards both individual and team achievement.

The winners of the annual competition, which began in Bowling Green, Ky., in 1985, will spilt a jackpot of more than $120,000. Each qualifier and the 10 champions will also be rewarded with a newly redesigned trophy that was handcrafted by master sculptor Dan Dreisbach of Naked Sculpture.

Held in conjunction with the Lucas Oil Route 66 NHRA Nationals NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event, the JEGS Allstars competition is a unique race that crowns individual champions in 10 separate eliminators, in addition to an overall team champion. Racers can only qualify for the event by earning points in their home divisions during yearlong battles in the following NHRA Lucas Oil categories: Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Top Dragster, and Top Sportsman.

In 2014, the host team from the NHRA West Central Division pummeled the competition to win its first overall team title. Led by Brett Speer (Stock), Trevor Larson (Super Gas), Rodger Sauder (Super Street), and Phil Unruh (Top Dragster), the Division 5 team accumulated 1,400 points to finish well ahead of the Division 2 team, which had 1,000 points.

As defending champions, Speer, Larson, Sauder, and Unruh will have the opportunity to return and defend their titles as blockers. They will be joined by fellow returning champions Randy Meyer (Top Alcohol Dragster), John Lombardo Jr. (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Greg Kamplain (Comp), Mike Crutchfield (Super Stock), Ray Miller III (Super Comp), and Jerry Albert (Top Sportsman).

IT'S JEGS ALL THE WAY - Mark Demke and the Maddern Racing team doesn't mask the major respect for Jegs Mail Order, sponsors of the Jeg's All-Stars event, a race within a race for sportsman competitors..
Because of his performance at LODRS regional events in the past year, Demke earned a spot in the eight-car JEGS Allstars race, where he'll face some of the other top competitors from around the country.

“We're going to be competing against the best of the best,” Demke said. “Our team takes this race very seriously. If you look at the sides of our trailer, the only stickers on it are our JEGS Allstars qualifiers stickers because we're so proud every time we're able to qualify and represent our division or region. On top of the Allstars, you still have the Route 66 Nationals. We won that race the last two years, so combined with last weekend's win we have a lot of momentum coming into this weekend.”