EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS SPORTSMAN RESULTS

EVENT GALLERY

 

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK

CRAMPTON CONTINUES WINNING WAYS OVER DIXON IN TOP FUEL - They met in the NHRA Top Fuel final round at both Las Vegas and Topeka earlier this year, and both times second-year driver Richie Crampton got the better of three-time series champion Larry Dixon.

Crampton did it again Sunday at Tennessee's Bristol Dragway, winning the Thunder Valley Nationals and erasing the Dixon/Fathers Day mystique.

With his winning 3.884-second elapsed time at 321.04 mph in the Lucas Oil Dragster, Crampton kept pace with Antron Brown, his opening-round victim Sunday. Both have a Top Fuel-leading three victories this season.

Dixon led late in the final-round run but encountered some kind of mechanical problem, allowing Crampton to power past him for his fifth overall victory. Dixon's clocking in the C&J Energy Services/Casedhole Dragster out of the Bob Vandergriff Racing shop was 4.004, 250.41.

"I could see Larry's nose poking out there in the right lane ahead of me," Crampton said of the showdown," and it seemed like he was going to get the win. Evidently he had some trouble downtrack, and we were able to get around him. It looked like a pretty close drag race from where I was sitting."

Crampton said, "I know how good Larry has been on Fathers Day, but we had our secret weapons."

They were daughter Emma, born just 12 days before his first victory, at Englishtown, N.J., and Emma's mother, Stephanie Lasko.

"That was special, for me to get a Fathers Day trophy with our kid in the winners circle," Crampton said. "Once again, everything was looking like Larry was going to get it, but Aaron Brooks, man . . ."

He was alluding to crew chief Aaron Brooks, who traditionally has been comfortable and extremely competent on cool racetracks but is beginning to master the hot, tricky ones, as well.

"We all know Aaron Brooks can swing for the fence when the weather is cool. But he has been working on this hot-weather-track race car package, and obviously it's working out really good," Crampton said.

"I didn’t even think about pedaling the car all day. I just know that Aaron had it dialed in and it just would run down there, If it would run on all eight [cylinders], it was probably going to win a round," he said. "That's the type of confidence I have as a new racer. I can't say enough about Aaron Brooks."

Crampton said he considers himself "spoiled to drive for such a great crew chief and for a great team like this."

It did, against some of the class' top opponents. Crampton defeated Brown, Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, then Dixon to improve his elimination-round record to 19-8 and move into the No. 3 slot in the standings.

"We had a tough day," Crampton said, paying respect to all four of his Sunday foes. "We ended up starting No. 11, which is a little daunting to begin with, especially if you have to race Antron Brown in the first round. But obviously it all worked out. I used to watch all of those guys on TV when I was a kid – well, except Shawn, because he's a similar age. It speaks volumes about how special our Lucas Oil team is.

"To have that winning record against Larry Dixon is pretty special. The law of averages says that he's going to get me back real soon," he said. "I just can't believe we keep racing each other during final rounds. But they're a great group of guys, and with everything they've been through this season, sentimentally, they've got to get a win sooner or later."

This race concludes a stretch of three East Coast races in as many weekends. The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will reconvene July 2-5 at Norwalk, Ohio, for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.

Normally, Crampton wouldn’t mind leaving the hills of Tennessee (although he said, "It's always been one of my favorite racetracks to come to").

"In all honesty, it has never been that good to MLR [Morgan Lucas Racing]. We struggled here in the past with Morgan [when Crampton was the clutch specialist], and even last year I didn’t have a lot of success. So to get a win and turn all that stuff around here is huge. It's hue to win at this historic racetrack," he said.

Bristol Dragway showed Crampton its Southern Hospitality Sunday. Dixon's consolation prize was setting the track speed record at 331.04 in qualifying No. 5. Susan Wade

HAGAN CAPTURES FIRST BRISTOL FC WIN - Matt Hagan has reached the NHRA Funny Car Summit, winning world championships in 2011 and 2014.

Now the driver of the Rocky Boots/Mopar Express Lane Dodge nitro Funny Car can check another thing off his bucket list – winning at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway.

Hagan edged his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps in the finals to claim the title Sunday at the hot and humid Thunder Valley Nationals.

Hagan clocked a 4.164-second pass at 303.23 mph to edge Capps’ 4.186 lap at 307.02 mph.

“This is just such a special race for me, I'm two hours down the road (living in Christianburg, Va.), and I have so many friends, so many family members out there,” Hagan said. “My mom and dad came out, my wife brought my kids, Colby and Penny. It is so, so special. I've been wanting to win Bristol for a long time because we are so close to home and I consider it my home track.”

This was Hagan’s class-best fourth win of the season and 18th of his career in 34 career final round appearances. The win also vaulted Hagan into the season points lead – 87 points in front of Capps after 11 of 24 races on the schedule.

Hagan’s victory parade also consisted of victories over John Hale, Cruz Pedregon and another DSR teammate, Jack Beckman, in the semis.

“Honestly this is up there like winning Indy for me,” Hagan said. “I care that much about it, I wanted to win it that bad. It gives me chill bumps talking about it. This is a huge race for me and to have my family out here on Father's Day, it piles on top of each other. It's so, so special and something I'll remember the rest of my life."

Actually, Hagan’s weekend began picking up momentum on Saturday when he qualified No. 2 on the ladder with a 3.996-second pass at 322.04 mph.

"The competition in Funny Car is phenomenal right now," Hagan said. "I pinch myself knowing we've won four races out here already this year and there's still so much racing left. It's so tough. We have a great team and a great group and I just can't say enough about Dickie Venables. The guy has taken it to another level. I'm very, very proud to have him as a crew chief. Our guys get along great and we have a great chemistry and we look like we've got another shot at hunting this championship this year."

Hagan made his nitro FC debut in 2008 and competed on his first full season on the NHRA circuit in 2009. Tracy Renck

ENDERS HAS McGAHA'S NUMBER AGAIN IN PRO STOCK FINAL - Erica Enders promised Saturday night after qualifying No. 1 for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals that her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro had "definitely more on the table."

It didn't produce lower elapsed times of faster speeds Sunday, but it carried her to a second straight Pro Stock victory at Bristol Dragway as she regained the points lead by defeating fellow Texan Chris McGaha in the final round. And had it not been for Shane Gray’s 207.82-mph qualifying pass, she would have run the table (qualified No. 1, won the race, and set both low E.T. and top speed of the meet).

Enders, a Houston native who lives in New Orleans with driver husband Richie Stevens, earned the 11-foot victory over McGaha, of Odessa, with a 6.685-second, 206.95-mph quarter-mile pass. McGaha yielded three-hundredths of a second to Enders on the launch and never could catch her with his 6.689-second elapsed time at a faster 207.46 mph in his Harlow Sammons Chevy Camaro.

Enders and Funny Car victor Matt Hagan Sunday became the first four-time winners in the NHRA professional ranks this year. And for the second time in six races she denied McGaha, her Houston runner-up in April, his career-first victory.

This fifth victory for her from the No. 1 qualifying position capped her fourth final at the historic East Tennessee racetrack in the past five NHRA appearances.

"Today we earned it," Enders said. "We made really good runs for the heat. It was really hot and tricky out there. The weekend was challenging with the heat and the rain. My crew chiefs were stressing, but they have this, cool, calm, collected attitude. And their confidence comes over the radio in my ears, and that in turn gives me the confidence I need to drive to the best of my ability and get up on the wheel and cut a light."

Enders said she loves spending time with crew chiefs Rick and Rickie Jones and Mark Ingersoll and team owner Richard Freeman.

"This is the first team I've ever worked for where we had that unified front. They're my best friends. I want to spend time with them, as opposed to just when you leave the tack you leave the track," she said. "So I'm very blessed. We work well together. It's always a positive environment."  

The reigning class champion, who earned her 16th total victory, only dreamed of such success when she lined up against Mike Edwards in the 2011 Bristol final. It was a weekend much like this one, with rain wreaking havoc on the schedule. Edwards won that day, preventing her from becoming Pro Stock's first female winner, and she took that defeat in stride, saying she had a "slightly broken heart." Edwards assured she would start winning races soon.

About a year later she did – she won four the next summer – and ever since then she has been breaking hearts herself. In this 185th race, she pushed her elimination-round record to 185-119 and her 2015 mark to 26-7.

So she said she completely understands the torment McGaha, Sunday's No. 2 starter, might be experiencing, making it to final rounds but not being able to close the deal. For her, it was seven finals spread out over nearly a decade.

"I'm sure Chris will get his win. Kevin "Lump" Self, his crew chief, is a brilliant guy, and he has turned that program around and is headed in the right direction," Enders said. "But it takes time. I never understood it until it happened to us. It was an incredibly challenging time, way more valleys than peaks in my career. It just makes it worthwhile when you accomplish it. If you just walk in and win, there's no appreciation there. He'll get it. He's doing a really good job."

She said Greg Anderson and Jason Line counseled her when she first started in the class. They told her, "You have to learn to win." She said, "I didn’t get it until we finally did it. You just learn how to handle yourself in those high-pressure situations. We all struggle. It's a challenge, for sure. You've got to remain positive."

Enders ran her record to 10-1 against McGaha overall and 2-0 in final rounds

This was the last of three East Coast events in three consecutive weekends. The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour shifts to Norwalk, Ohio, for the July 2-5 Summit Racing Equipment Nationals. Susan Wade

 

SUNDAY RANDOM NOTES

IF THE SHOE FITS – When Ron Capps beat John Force, key rival for Don Schumacher Racing, team owner Don Schumacher was anything but subtle in his elation. Schumacher delivered a big fist-pump.

“Taking John out with Ron Capps and the Napa car was big,” said Schumacher. “I’m tired of that guy.”

Schumacher, as a team owner, scored seven Funny Car wins in 2014, and with his all-DSR Funny Car final scored victory No. 8.

THE WAY IT STACKS UP - Sunday’s victory was the 18th of Matt Hagan’s seven-year Funny Car career and puts him on the all-time win list in a tie for tenth with NHRA legend Ed "Ace" McCulloch, Mark Oswald and Tim Wilkerson. It also extended the Mopar driver’s lead in the championship points by 87 points over teammate Ron Capps in second place.

BIG DIFFERENCE – Track conditions for Bristol Dragway went from hot to cool and back to hot during the course of the weekend. With an abundance of rain and cloud cover the final session presented a track temperature of 90 degrees for Saturday’s Q-4 session. Sunday’s track temp for the E-1 round was a toasty 116 before bumping up to 120 by the quarterfinal round.

AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY - Rickie Smith, the two-time and defending Pro Modified world champ, powered his IDG 2015 Chevy Camaro to a winning performance of 5.944-seconds at 244.52 mph over Gainesville winner Bob Rahaim’s TLC Waste Management 2015 Corvette. The win was the King, N.C. native’s eighth career victory and third at Bristol Dragway. He is now fifth in points.

“It was a good time to start making rounds,” said Smith of the switch to his new Camaro. “There are still a lot of races left. We gave up on it a couple of races ago but this may get a little fire back in the old guy’s eyes again.”

ENCORE PERFORMANCE - Tony Pedregon advanced to the semifinals of Funny Car for the first time since last year at Bristol by defeating fellow Toyota drivers Alexis DeJoria in the first round and Del Worsham in the second.  Pedregon defeated Worsham on a hole-shot by just .016 seconds before eventually falling to Ron Capps in the semis after smoking his tires at the start.

FIRST TIME – There were three drivers who bumped their record to 1-0 in the first round in head-to-head match-ups. Gumout-sponsored driver Leah Pritchett scored a career-first win over Spencer Massey.

Likewise, Richie Crampton finally got the best of Antron Brown.

Dave Connolly, the only rookie of the trio, earned his first win over past Bristol champion Steve Torrence, who fouled away the race.

NO. 100 - J.R. Todd picked up his 100th career round win in the first round by beating Britanny Force.  Todd ran a 3.822-second elapsed time for the momentous victory.

Sunday proved to be a banner day for team owner Connie Kalitta. Not only did Kalitta put two Top Fuel cars in the semis, but was also inducted into the Bristol Dragway Legends of Thunder Valley along with Bristol Dragway co-founder Carl Moore.

HEARD HIM ALL THE WAY – Tony Schumacher might have been the Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier but first round opponent Troy Buff certainly didn’t race him like a No. 16.

“People always seem to get their best runs against me,” admitted Schumacher. “He was beside me all the way.”

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY – Two of Funny Car’s leading competitors, Ron Capps and Courtney Force celebrated birthdays on Sunday. On Saturday, respected piston manufacturer turned nitro team owner Bill Miller celebrated a birthday.

ONE OF THESE DAYS … - The Pro Stock final between Erica Enders and Chris McGaha was actually a rematch of the Houston final in which the outcome was the same.
 
"I'm going to beat her," said McGaha. "One of these days, I'm gonna get it done. But we aren't disappointed at all, absolutely not. We're more motivated than ever, and it feels so good to know that I got back to a final round. I got one chance in Houston, and I got a second chance here – so we know how to get there now, and we're going to keep trying to get there each time. Eventually, one of these will come our way."

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN – But thanks to Cruz and Tony Pedregon, both of Funny Car’s prolific female drivers won’t. Cruz defeated Courtney while Tony ended Alexis’ weekend.

NOT HAPPY – Tony Schumacher lost his quarterfinal match against JR Todd when his car would not fire. Adding salt to his wounds, Todd smoked the tires just past the eighth-mile.

“We had a good racecar, but every now and then you get a bug in there and it’s unfortunate because I think we had chance to go out there and win another one today,” said Schumacher, who closed the gap to points leader and DSR teammate Antron Brown from 33 to two this weekend. “He (Todd) went out and smoked the tires on his solo run, but who’s to say we wouldn’t have done the same thing in the right lane, too, like the two cars did ahead of us. There are no guarantees out here. And there are lots of parts and pieces in these amazing machines, and with those parts and pieces, mishaps happen, whatever it turns out to be for us here today. Thankfully, they are so few and far between. We did manage to really tighten up the points situation with Antron, but there’s still a lot of racing left before we get to the Countdown. We’ll figure out what went wrong and then come back strong in a couple of weeks.”

CHANGING POWERPLANTS - After qualifying No. 3 for Sunday's eliminations, the Infinite Hero-sponsored Jack Beckman beat John Hale and Tim Wilkerson before losing to Hagan in the semifinals.

"We warmed up for the second round (against Wilkerson) and we had to change engines," Jack said. "We warmed up four different times for the semifinals and got our problems handled, got the car up there and unfortunately it just wasn't enough.

"What you can't capture from reading the notes on the race is how hot it is, how humid it is. That last-minute engine change before the second round there are a lot of teams that wouldn't have made it back up there. We made it back up there and turned on a win light. We fired it up for the semis and it kept shutting off.

DROPPING CYLINDERS - Friday's provisional low qualifier Tim Wilkerson reached the quarterfinal round today, losing to Beckman.

"It was tough out there, in both rounds, but I'm not going to dwell on the second one," Wilkerson said. "We ran pretty good, and it was really hard to avoid dropping cylinders down there, but we got beat. So did half the people in the first round and half the people in the second round. It's okay, and we got some points here, so now we get a chance to go home and spread all our junk on the floor to get it all spruced back up before Norwalk."

LAW OF AVERAGES - The first round loss for Steve Torrence dropped him out of the top ten and into the No. 11 in points. While Torrence insists that over the course of a season the good breaks and the bad ones usually offset, he admitted Sunday that he’s looking at a big deficit so far this year. 

“I know it’ll swing back our way eventually,” said Torrence. “But, yeah, it’s frustrating.  It’s frustrating for me.  It’s frustrating for my dad, and it’s really frustrating for the guys.  They’ve been working their butts off.  All you can do is just go back to work and go on to the next race.”

 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK – HEAT GIVES WAY TO RAIN, AND A LONG DAY

TOP TEN TAKEAWAYS FROM QUALIFYING

SCHUMACHER SWIPES ANOTHER ONE - In each day of qualifying for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, Tony Schumacher came from behind to take the Top Fuel class' No. 1 spot.

His 3.768-second elapsed time on the storied East Tennessee 1,000-foot course allowed him to squeak past Larry Dixon's 3.769 on the last run Friday.

Then Doug Kalitta ran a 3.750-second pass at 329.50 mph Saturday evening in the Mac Tools Dragster to reset the track elapsed-time record and top the list in the rain-delayed final qualifying session. But Schumacher reclaimed both honors three pairings later with a 3.745-second response at 326.08 mph.

"It earns points. It shows power. It flexes muscle. It does all that. It's brilliant stuff, if we were going to race tomorrow night," Schumacher said. "We're going to come out here and it'll be smokin' hot in the morning. There'll be no air. We're going to be dying out here. The sun's going to beat on the racetrack." – Susan Wade

RAIN MAKES FOR FAN INTERACTION – Saturday’s qualifying was extended thanks to a multitude of showers over Bristol Dragway which dumped a lot of rain in multiple instances in a short amount of time. Drivers went to the ropes to sign autographs. Three-quarters of the way through Pro Stock Q-3 session, a downpour put action on hold for nearly an hour. 

Many drivers who were scheduled to meet race fans in a post-qualifying party opted to stand at their ropes and sign autographs for the rain-drenched Bristol fans.

Unofficially, John Force Racing might have signed the most autographs with a line stretching from one side of the pits to the other and curving around. 

WILKERSON SITS, AND MISSES – Tim Wilkerson made the decision to sit out the Q-4 session, knowing this decision would likely cost him the No. 1 seeding headed into the final session. His decision was one of economics and preparing for Sunday’s final eliminations where he will race Tommy Johnson Jr. in the first round. 

"It was pretty simple, really. This is the third race in a row and we haven't been back to the shop," Wilkerson said. "Everything we race with is in this trailer, and we don't have any teammates to go borrow stuff from. I think I could've run a 3.98 out there, but there would've been a good chance of hurting something and we don't have a trailer full of race-ready parts right now. We need to get home and recharge, but for now we have to race with what we have. Put it this way, I'd rather skip that last session and slip to sixth than win a couple of rounds on Sunday and run out of parts.

"We made three good laps, and we got three bonus points, so that's all good. If you want to see the glass half full, I'd say we easily could've fallen all the way to 11th or 12th if the whole class would've hit home runs. To be sixth isn't as fun as first, but we have a good race car and we can win from there. It's supposed to be pretty hot tomorrow, so my job is to figure out what I can run, in the lane I pick, at the time we get up there."

OUT OF ORDER – In a move largely weather related, the Pro Stock cars, instead of opening the professional qualifying, ran behind the fuel classes.  

PRO MOD HELP – In a move to help the Pro Modified cars reduce their oildowns, the NHRA coordinated select members of the Pro Modified community with veteran nitro tuner Mike Neff. Neff offered some tips to avoid the increasing oildown issue. 

 

ANOTHER KIND OF THUNDER IN THE VALLEY – There’s a third nitro division racing in the mountains. Tommy Grimes led the special exhibition Top Fuel Harley division with a pass of 6.291 at 226 miles per hour. 

Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 15th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, the 11th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 3.745 seconds, 326.08 mph  vs. 16. Troy Buff, 3.961, 300.86; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.750, 329.50  vs. 15. Terry McMillen, 3.897, 315.86; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.767, 322.42  vs. 14. Pat Dakin, 3.885, 310.98; 4. Spencer Massey, 3.768, 326.63  vs. 13. Leah Pritchett, 3.861, 319.60; 5. Larry Dixon, 3.769, 331.04  vs. 12. Clay Millican, 3.812, 318.17; 6. Antron Brown, 3.770, 320.66  vs. 11. Richie Crampton, 3.805, 318.47; 7. Dave Connolly, 3.778, 323.81  vs. 10. Steve Torrence, 3.791, 324.75; 8. Brittany Force, 3.787, 316.82  vs. 9. J.R. Todd, 3.790, 318.62.

Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.978, 323.43  vs. 16. Terry Haddock, Toyota Solara, 5.156, 159.85; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.996, 322.04  vs. 15. Jeff Diehl, Solara, 4.521, 263.77; 3. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.996, 319.60  vs. 14. John Hale, Charger, 4.227, 294.31; 4. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 4.006, 322.58  vs. 13. Chad Head, Camry, 4.121, 303.23; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.025, 314.90  vs. 12. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.109, 307.72; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.027, 318.32  vs. 11. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.070, 306.33; 7. Courtney Force, Camaro, 4.046, 316.82  vs. 10. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.052, 305.91; 8. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.048, 317.49  vs. 9. Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 4.049, 318.02.

Pro Stock -- 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.632, 207.59  vs. 16. John Gaydosh Jr, Chevrolet Camaro, 6.743, 203.86; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.646, 206.83  vs. 15. V. Gaines, Dodge Dart, 6.739, 205.82; 3. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.647, 207.02  vs. 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.714, 204.60; 4. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.651, 207.82  vs. 13. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.691, 205.85; 5. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.652, 206.89  vs. 12. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.686, 206.64; 6. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.653, 206.45  vs. 11. Richie Stevens, Dart, 6.685, 206.16; 7. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.654, 207.27  vs. 10. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.666, 205.85; 8. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.656, 207.30  vs. 9. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.659, 206.35.

TOP FUEL

THE IRONY OF IT ALL - The NHRA dropped Memphis Motorsports Park from their schedule at the end of the 2009 season, forcing Clay Millican, who lives just outside of Memphis, Tenn., to adopt a new home track.  Bristol Dragway, 500 hundred miles east of Millican's Drummonds residence, is where he now claims home field advantage. 

Interestingly, most of Millican's successful career points were achieved while racing with the IHRA. Under the former Bristol-based sanctioning body, Millican achieved six consecutive World Championships and is noted as the winningest driver in IHRA history with 52 national event wins. 

Millican never raced Top Fuel at Bristol under the IHRA sanction. 

“I never raced the big dragsters here but I raced plenty of Modified eliminator races here,” said Millican. 

Of note, Bristol Dragway, then called Thunder Valley, was the flagship of the IHRA up until 1997 when Bill Bader purchased the sanctioning body and the moved the operation to Norwalk, Ohio. The famous track built between two eastern Tennessee mountains by Larry Carrier was rebuilt and rebranded by new owner Bruton Smith and moved to NHRA sanction. 

During those years of transition, Millican was a sportsman racer and worked his day job as a forklift operator in a Kroger supermarket warehouse. 

Millican doesn't give up on his chances of winning the elusive NHRA Wally. 

“The past few weeks out have been good," said Millican. "I think the team’s starting to get a handle on the hot weather conditions, and that doesn’t do anything except boost my confidence in these guys. We’ve been able to run consistently and well in cold weather, but this past weekend in New Hampshire was where our hot weather program really started clicking. My confidence is definitely up going into this weekend at Bristol."

KEEPING TABS ON THE KID - Millican has a kid racing, but not on the straight line race course. 

His youngest son Dalton is currently competing on the Monster Jam World Tour, driving the Blue Thunder Monster Truck.

"They’re just finishing up their time in Spain and then he’ll be heading over to Belgium next weekend," Millican said with a smile of fatherly pride on his face. "I haven’t got to talk to him a lot, but his mom and I have been getting a lot of pictures. It’s very gratifying as a parent to see your child living their dream, and that’s something I’ve been fortunate to see both of my sons take the steps towards achieving.”

 

SUPER FANS - Tennessee race fans Tammy and Kerry Smith are in the Alan Johnson Racing hospitality area this weekend.  After losing its primary sponsorship four weeks before the beginning of the 2015 season, the team began its sponsorship search in early January – arguably the worst-possible time to begin such a search.  

The Smiths, from Townsend, Tenn., mailed team owner Alan Johnson a $5 check and a letter telling him not to give up and offering their assistance.  

“I can’t give as much as I would like to help your team out, but some is better than none," the Smiths wrote in their original correspondence. "I will try and do more when I can.  Look at it as kind of paying you back for all the great years of racing. Don’t give up; keep going if you can. Stay strong; stuff happens for a reason.”  

As a small gesture of gratitude for their generosity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the guests of Alan Johnson Racing at Bristol Dragway Saturday and Sunday. 
 
The Smith’s offered a measure of inspiration on Saturday for the team as driver shawn Langdon struggled on the first day of qualifying. He bounced back today, qualifying third with a 3.767-second pass in the fourth run. 

 

 

FUNNY CAR

FREQUENT FLIER - Normally Ron Capps would hop a flight home following a race to get a few days in before headed to the next stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing tour. 

After Epping, Capps attended a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park with NAPA Boston Distribution Center customers. Then it was off to Williston, North Dakota for a NAPA store appearance on Wednesday.

"I feel like another NAPA employee during appearances at stores and distribution centers, but I'm the lucky one who gets to drive their 320-mph race car," said Capps, 

Capps flew more than 150,000 miles last year to races and 40 non-racing NAPA events. So far this year, his travel is nearly 70,000.

"I joke that I might be the world's fastest parts delivery driver, but my NAPA Dodge just doesn't have one of our big yellow NAPA hats on the roof."

DECISIONS, DECICIONS - NEW PIPE DELIVERS - Rahn Tobler, crew chief for the NAPA AUTO PARTS Funny Car, has won 49 NHRA event titles and three NHRA world championships because he makes good decisions.

After driver Ron Capps advanced to the championship round in two of the first three Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events to start this season and won the third race, Tobler decided to bring out a new edition Don Schumacher Racing 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car chassis.

At the third race with the new chassis, Capps won at Houston to take over the championship points lead and followed that with another final round appearance.

But Tobler decided after losing the points lead a few races later and then losing last week at Epping, N.H., it was time to return to the back-up car that won at Gainesville so he put it back in the starting lineup for this weekend's NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway near Bristol Motor Speedway.

"We're using the chassis we won with at Gainesville and went to the finals before that," Capps said. "It catapulted us up in points to No. 1. Then we parked it to begin running the new one and won with it.

"After the engine backfired last week at Epping and caused a fuel tank explosion Rahn wasn't comfortable racing it here so he decided to go back to this one."

DAD WANTS TO DELIVER FOR DAD ON FATHER'S DAY - Matt Hagan would love nothing more than to share the winner's circle with his father, David, and son, Colby, on Sunday afternoon.

"I really can't tell you how special that would be to me," Matt said. "My dad has done so much for me and taught me so much that I would love to be able to meet him in the winner's circle on Sunday and give him that Wally trophy. To have my son here for a win would be amazing too. That would be pretty close to a perfect day."

He'll have a good chance on Sunday after qualifying No. 2 for Sunday's scenic eliminations in Thunder Valley. The Dickie Venables-tuned Rocky Boots/Mopar machine posted a 4.035-second lap under the lights on Friday night after rain plagued Saturday when teams got another chance under the lights at Bristol. Venables turned the wick up to a 3.996 at 322 mph.

 

TAG TEAMING - Kalitta Motorsports teammates Del Worsham and Alexis DeJoria will start as the No. 4 and 5 seeds respectively.

PRO STOCK 

 

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - IT WAS A HOT ONE AND THE RACING EVEN HOTTER

TOP FUEL

MORE THAN SPONSORSHIP - Tony Schumacher said he was fortunate enough to win his 79th career Top Fuel victory on the actual birthday of the U.S. Army. Previously, the celebration was held during the Bristol weekend. 

To Schumacher, his association with the U.S. Army is more than a marketing program. It's a mission of the heart.

"I’ve been doing this almost 20 years," said Schumacher. "I’ve helped recruit a lot of Army soldiers, watched them go overseas, watched them do their jobs, and watched them come back and I’ve talked with many of them and watched their scenarios unfold as they’ve gotten on with their lives. It’s a pleasure to be part of something so big." 

Hot off a win in Epping last week, Schumacher's Bristol record is solid, with five career victories. 

“Everybody seems to have tracks where they are good and, fortunately, Bristol is one of those for the U.S. Army team," said Schumacher. "Yeah, ever since we won last week, and the way the day unfolded, and all the meaning behind it, with the Army’s birthday celebration and the Continental Color Guard standing there at the starting line, I was ready to just keep the momentum going. 

"Bristol being Bristol, that just has us all the more fired up to go out and represent the U.S. Army once again. It’s a special place to race, for sure. There is some altitude to deal with there, but mostly it’s just that I love Thunder Valley. I always go into this race feeling successful. I think, anytime you win races, it gets easier the next time. That’s why I go into Bristol with a completely positive attitude and the results have been the proof."

NO BLUES HERE - Tony Schumacher is loving his new dragster. 

He debuted the car in Atlanta last month and qualified second, third in Englishtown and Epping where he won in only its fourth outing. 

“It’s a great car," said Schumacher. "The purpose of this car should benefit us greatly when it gets warm out. So far, we’ve been two-thousandths quicker than a lot of cars. We’ve been maintaining, but we’re not substantially quicker. We’re building that backbone for when it starts getting hot week after week. The changes we made to build this car aren’t way out there, they’re not from far out in left field, they’re not guesses. 

"We hire great people with great minds who sit in boardrooms and talk about what might happen. They put it on computers, and the computers show results, and then they go and build it and put me in there. The car hasn’t been all about big changes. We make small changes and then we make lots of them. We have good ideas, some for three years down the road that we might get if this works and that works and it’s a scenario that keeps building upon itself. If this works and that works, and depending on what it tells us, we might try this next.”

THERE'S GOLD IN THEM THERE HILLS - This afternoon at Bristol Leah Pritchett unveiled a dazzling new look for her Gumout dragster prior to the Q-1 session. 

“We at Gumout are very excited to debut the new “Solid Gold” dragster for Leah and the Dote Racing team at Bristol,” said Rusty Waples, Global Group Brand Manager at ITW Global Brands. “When we discussed our idea with Leah, she asked if we could really go gold and we told her, “absolutely!”  That said, it’s about as gold as you can get and it mimics our new packaging for the Gumout Expert Series. We can’t wait to see the reaction of the NHRA racing fans as they get the chance to see the car close-up in the pits.”

“We went back and forth on how to do this gold dragster and finally just decided let's be all-in and go big – and gold, bullion-style,” said Pritchett. “I love the red dragster, but this, this is going to be fun to roll out to the lanes the next three events for Gumout.”  

The rollout of the new look worked well for Pritchett.

“I thought the launch of the new Gumout Expert Series branding was great this week,” said Pritchett, who placed 11th in Friday’s 18-driver Top Fuel qualifying field. “We have had a great deal of attention on the new ‘Solid Gold’ car and we really wanted to make two solid runs Friday.  We actually backed down our car’s settings in the night qualifying run after seeing some of the earlier cars smoke the tires. I know we left a little on the table with the 3.861 run.”  

THE LEADER OF THE OTHERS - In a season largely dominated by the Don Schumacher Racing empire, Richie Crampton has led the charge for the "others." Out of ten races, only three drivers have accounted for four wins. Richie Crampton has been the only repeat winner of the group. 

None of those events have been at Bristol, a track where Morgan Lucas Racing remains winless. 
 
"We haven't really had a lot of success here, with myself or Morgan (Lucas) or anyone else, for that matter," said Crampton. "It's definitely time to change that. The law of averages should help us get that sorted out this weekend."

Crampton is fourth in the Top Fuel standings after ten races, scoring wins in Las Vegas and Topeka. He has been to two final rounds and one semifinal for a 15-8 round record this year. Additionally, he has qualified in the top half of the field in nine of the ten races, including a No. 2 qualifier in Epping, N.H., last weekend.

"We know we have a fantastic race car right now," Crampton said. "All of the prior poor weekends at Bristol don't really matter. All we can focus on is the fact that you're only as good as your last race, and we had a pretty good race car in Epping."

COMING ON STRONG - It's not how you start the race, it's how you finish. This mantra works best for Brittany Force, who is rapidly making up for a slow 2015 start. 

Force has advanced to the semifinals or further in each of the past three races, and is now provisionally in the top 10 of point earners.

“We have made huge strides since Monster Energy has come on board,” Force said. “Now that we have a comfortable backing we have been able to push the car and really see what this team is capable of. The first six races of the season the entire team had to play things safe on the racetrack to save costs.

“I had to hold back from keeping my foot on the throttle or pedaling the car in fear of hurting the motor and pushing our budget. Now that we are playing with a whole new scenario we are really able to make the moves we want to, and it's definitely showing.”

Still missing is Ms. Force's first career Top Fuel national event victory. 

“I absolutely believe the Monster Energy team is right on the cusp of breaking through and taking home our first win,” Force said. “We know our first win is right around the corner, and it feels great to hear our fans telling us that our first win is coming.”  

FUNNY CAR

SO FAR, SO GOOD - The last time Tim Wilkerson was No. 1 qualifier was nearly three years ago, at the fall Charlotte event, a performance drought he'd like to erase. 

Wilkerson ran a solid 4.027 at 318.32 mph to jump up into the top spot, with two pairs left to chase him.

"If we're anywhere close to on time tomorrow and if the forecast is anything close to right, that's got a pretty good chance to stick," Wilk said. "Of course, we've all seen both sides of that not work out, and they don't crown the low qualifier until all the runs are made, but we've given ourselves a pretty good leg up on it, I think.

"That first run was really critical because you want to make a full lap and give yourself a chance to improve, and we did that. It didn't matter what the number was, because it was hot and humid out there, but what mattered was where it stood in relation to everyone else, and being fourth was good. We got to be out there under some much better conditions in Q2, and we got to watch a lot of other teams run. We saw Jack Beckman run his 4.03 and we knew then what the track would hold and we felt we had a shot at this. Proud of my guys for getting this done. Now, we'll just wait and see what tomorrow allows us and everyone else to do out there." 

SLUMPING - Since winning the NHRA Southern Nationals outside of Atlanta, Tim Wilkerson has struggled to repeat the same level of dominance. Wilkerson only has one round win to his credit. 

"Coming out of Topeka, we weren't doing much wrong but this sport always has a way to keep you humble," Wilkerson said. "We'd won Atlanta and then only lost by a little bit in round two at Topeka, and everything was good with the world. Then we ran pretty good in Englishtown but missed the set-up in round one. I never say we deserved a better result, because there's so many good cars out here everyone deserves some rewards but only half the teams get them each round. It's hard to win.

"In Epping, I felt like we took a step sideways and lost the handle on it a little. We were dropping cylinders all weekend until we finally fixed that in round one and making the extra horsepower with all eight lit drove it right into tire spin. It was pretty frustrating, but Bristol wraps this up and I've always loved Thunder Valley. It treats me well, and I can usually get my act back together when we get there."

Wilkerson has never won the Bristol event, but he has been the runner-up there twice, including last season when he qualified second with what was then a career best (a 4.013 that was bettered by the 3.971 and 3.984 he posted this year in Topeka).

SILENT DOMINATION - Del Worsham, without a lot of fanfare, has quietly been compiling a strong 2015 season. Worsham has advanced to the semifinals or final round five times this season.

“I feel like we have had a consistent DHL Toyota Camry,” said Worsham, who has 34 career wins and won the 2011 Top Fuel world championship. “It has just got to be about the timing. You have to make the right run at the right time. Sometimes you can win and not run well all day, and other times you make a great run and go out in the first round. It is just going to take a little bit of luck.”

Currently there are three drivers ahead of him – defending world champion Matt Hagan, Ron Capps and John Force – have all posted two wins in 2015, with Force winning last weekend in Epping, but Worsham has been one of the most consistent with final round appearances in Phoenix and Charlotte and three more semifinal appearances.

OF JURASSIC WORLD, RAPTORS AND THE FORCE - DSR RIVALRY - John Force cannot help it. He speaks and his words are like gasoline on a fire. 

Force, who appeared on The Straight Line with Doug Herbert and Marty Hough radio show on Wednesday, compared recent on-track battles with Don Schumacher Racing's drivers with the new Jurassic World movie.

“A couple races ago Schumacher sent all his raptors after me, referring to the team of four Funny Cars under the banner of Don Schumacher Racing, and I almost got them all in Topeka," said Force. 

The Velociraptor, portrayed in the movie as a vicious, and fast-running dinosaur, could track down and devour prey with an unparalleled intensity. 

Tommy Johnson Jr., who raced Force in the Epping final round last week, was at a loss for how to respond to the description of he and his teammates.

"Never saw the movie, so I don't have a clue what he's talking about," Johnson admitted. "Like normal I have no clue what he's talking about."

"I'll let the fans decide what I am," added Jack Beckman. 

Ron Capps, who was originally slated for the position on Force's team eventually filled by Tony Pedregon, added more.

"I think that's a pretty good analogy," said Capps, with a smile. "I'm curious what he is ... what is the oldest dinosaur out there? But Force is right, those Raptors are like wolves - they hunt in packs."

Matt Hagan, who physical stature suggests he would be better suited for T-Rex status, initially took offense to Force's comparison.

"You always have to have respect Force but when he shoots his mouth off like that, you could tend to lose some respect," said Hagan. "We gotta go up there and let our cars do the talking."

Hagan, rushing off to a public relations commitment, paused for a moment and offered, "You know those Raptors are pretty badass though."

LAST WEEK’S WINNER, THIS WEEK’S BUBBLE – Following a victory where he seemed his excitement would cause a physical explosion, John Force was a little bit more subdued as he could only manage a twelfth best 4.163 on Friday. 

TEAM FORCE SEEKING TRAXXAS SPOT - Only two spots remain for the Funny Car portion of the $100,000-to-win Funny Car portion of the Traxxas Showdown. Only John Force has a spot secure in the special race-within-a-race, leaving teammates Robert Hight and the Traxxas flagship driver Courtney Force seeking their berths. 

Hight has three semifinal finishes (Pomona, Phoenix and Houston) as well as a runner-up finish in Las Vegas. 

“Our whole team is aware we have had some close calls with getting one of those last spots in the Traxxas Shootout," Hight said. "In a perfect world Courtney and I would get the last guaranteed spots. I think we have a good chance of going rounds here as long as we can continue to make strong runs in qualifying. This class is so tough that if you start off the week a little slow it is tough to catch up.”
 
PRO STOCK

NO. 1 IS NICE, BUT … - Chris McGaha three times thus far in 2015 has qualified at the top in Pro Stock, setting the place in Gainesville, Charlotte, and last weekend in Epping. 

"We were expecting everyone to turn up the wick, but they didn't – and here we are," said McGaha, who was third quickest in the first session with a 6.669-second pass at 206.54 mph and earned a bonus point. In the later session, he clocked a 6.647, 206.67 to grab three bonus points and the top spot. "The conditions did get a little bit better because the track started to cool off. We went up there conservative on the first run because we were trying not to jinx ourselves and be No. 1, but here we are. We stepped on it a little bit figuring everyone else would, too, but it is what it is."
 
McGaha believes as nice as riding to the top on Friday proved to be, Saturday's unenviable conditions could be most valuable in helping him to win his first race. 
 
"I wanted to get No. 1 at least once in my life and career; I had that ambition," said McGaha. "I was able to do that in Phoenix, and we were happy about that. But now it's becoming almost a common occurrence for us, and it seems like we need to change our pace a little more for Sunday. We might stay No. 1 tomorrow if we're running in the heat of the day, but you never really know. If we don't, you aren't going to see me shed a tear. But if it does hold, I'll take my No. 1 qualifier plaque from K&N, smile, and enjoy it."

HOMEBOY NOT HAPPY - Allen Johnson is happy to be racing at home this weekend. That's about all he's happy about.

“My assessment of our season to date?” Johnson asked. “I consider this season to be a total train wreck so far. We've worked hard and there have been a few bright spots but the results have not been anything close to our capability. We're very disappointed.”

Johnson entered the weekend as tenth ranked in points. 

“It's incredibly important right now to get our car performing better,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to put our Magneti Marelli Mopar Dodge Dart in the semifinals at each event for the next stretch of three races, at the very least. We especially want to get some momentum going into Bristol in front of our home crowd.

“I do feel like we are on the verge of breaking through following our test at Rockingham this past week. I also feel like our qualifying performance at the last two races (Atlanta and Topeka) indicates that we are almost done with the bad part.”

FATHER KNOWS BEST - The champion knew her key to racing was through dad. This is why Erica Enders went to her dad, a racer himself, when she was 8 years old, asking to drive in the new Jr. Dragster class. Gregg Enders agreed and began a long journey as her mentor, crew chief, and supporter.

"He gave up a lot for (sister) Courtney and I to be able to race," Enders said. "From the Jr. Dragster days to Super Comp and Super Gas to funding a Pro Stock team on his own, he provided all the stepping-stones to get me where I am today.

Enders won the 2014 Pro Stock world championship, with Gregg and Courtney arm in arm behind her at Auto Club Raceway last November.

Enders has been to the Bristol final round in three of the last four races (2011, 2013, 2014), reaching the semifinals in 2012.

FIRST-TIME FINALIST - Jonathan Gray reached his seventh career final here last season. And while the average rookie driver might have been elated with the feat, Gray could only see what might have been. 
 
"We should have won," Gray said.
           
Gray would go on to reach three final rounds in 2014 and finally get his trophy at the delayed Charlotte event which concluded in Dallas.
The impressive season kicked in high gear at Bristol Dragway.

"It was just the way things fell that day," said Gray. "I had a decent racecar, and I was driving well. I had a good enough car that I could have won, but I messed up in the final. I learned from it, and that's about all you can do. It stinks, but you move on."
            
Gray also raced to the final at the very next event on the tour in Epping.