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

THURS GALLERY FRI. GALLERY SAT. GALLERY SUN GALLERY

 

 

SUNDAY
 

AS HARD AS HE ‘TRIED’ NOT TO, TORRENCE WINS AT BRAINERD FOR FIRST TIME - Steve Torrence and Brainerd International Raceway had a quirky relationship Sunday. 

For years he had tried to win at this Northern Minnesota venue, with no luck (although part-time racer dad Billy in 2018 won the first of his seven Wally trophies here). 

And just as he appeared to be making mistakes that surely would prolong his drought here in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, Steve Torrence won the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. 

Go figure. 

But Kilgore, Texas’ King Kong of Top Fuel was grateful after his final-round defeat of Clay Millican and the Parts Plus/Walmart Dragster that Millican warned had been “deadly consistent” all weekend. 

“It's truly unbelievable to say that this was the only racetrack that we had never won a race at. I did it in alcohol long time ago, but that doesn't count. It's pretty humbling.  I remember just dreaming of winning one race, much less at every racetrack,” Torrence said.

The 47-time winner sealed the deal with a 3.712-second elapsed time at 323.74 mph on the 1,000-foot course against Millican’s 3.729, 320.05. They had identical reaction times (at 0.052 of a second), and Torrence’s margin of victory was .0170 of a second, or about eight feet.
 
Torrence, the No. 2 qualifier, won the first round when Terry Totten left before the Christmas Tree was activated, escaped with a quarterfinal victory against Justin Ashley, and calmed himself down with a semifinal bye run that automatically handed him his 70th career final-round appearance. 

“I did everything I possibly could to screw this up today,” Torrence lamented. 

He said Totten’s mistake on the starting line “caused me to flinch,” resulting in a negative-.138 reaction time. That was still on his mind when he rolled up to face Ashley, who has developed a reputation for being cobra-quick on the Tree. The Capco Contractors Dragster driver hung a .132 light on himself, allowing Ashley to get a big jump on him with a .062. But Torrence was able to catch up with Ashley and pass him as his Davis Motorsports Smart Sanitizer Dragster began to lose power downtrack. It cost Ashley an automatic second trip to the final round in three races and propelled Torrence to what he considered a huge break with a semifinal-round freebie. 

“The Good Lord was looking after my butt,” Torrence said of that run, and he thanked his Richard Hogan- and Bobby Lagana-led crew. 

“I came through when they needed me, but they needed me a little more against Justin Ashley, because that kid’s– I mean, he's the best leaver in the class right now. And I go up there and have a complete brain failure. I see him take off, and I'm like, ‘I guess I should go with him if we're going to try to race to that end.’ Those Capco boys bailed me out again.  Those things happen and when they do you just have to put them behind you and get back in the game.  We got lucky, but we’ll take it and learn from it. 

He said the bye run settled him down and helped him regain his focus. But he said what he’ll remember most about the day is “that I did everything possible to screw it up all the way to the final and I finally got my head out of my butt and drove my race car, because that was a heck of a race against Clay. 

“Those guys are coming on strong right now. Couldn't be more proud of that team. But these Capco boys that continue to just save me when I need it . . . I help them when they need it,” he said. 

“We're at the front and we're staying there. It's just a blessing to be here. I mean, the Good Lord looks after us and blesses us tremendously, and to have this opportunity is truly special. To say that I've won every race on the circuit, I mean, I just remember dreaming of winning one race, and to be here and have the accomplishments that we have is nothing short of the glory of God and the Capco boys, and my mom and dad supporting us, my wife and my little girl, Charli. I think she's my good-luck charm.” 

Immediately after doing a quick interview, he said, referring to Millican, “Now I’m going to over and tackle this hillbilly.” 

Millican, the popular racer from Drummonds, Tenn., has a longstanding friendship with Torrence. After Millican beat Torrence nemesis Brittany Force, the No. 1 qualifier, in the semifinals and Torrence finished his solo pass, the two finalists ran over and hugged each other and laughed at the top end of the track. Clearly, each wanted to win the final, but the respect they showed one another demonstrated just how long the two teams have had a connection. 

Lagana used to run his Twilight Zone Dragster in IHRA competition, where Millican and Kloeber were nearly untouchable and those two dominators helped him with parts and advice and encouragement, helping Lagana gain experience and knowledge and reach his own potential in the sport. 

Lagana said, “Kloeber and Clay have kept us in business years ago. We've been trying to help them out. It's hard not to root for that team. They’re underdogs, but Richard Hogan and the Silver Dollar, they’ll have a drink on us tonight, and I'm sure we'll be heading to The Zoo [Brainerd’s infamous campground that has developed a fun-and-crazy reputation throughout the years]. Why wouldn't you, right? You’re here and it's awesome to see the crowd here. And what a final. It just can't get any better than that. God bless Brainerd and God bless America.” 

The NHRA canceled the 2020 edition of the Lucas Oil Nationals because of coronavirus restrictions, and Torrence joined the crowd of racers expressing elation at being able to come back to the popular Northwoods racetrack. 

Funny Car winner Matt Hagan had said, “I just love seeing all these fans out here. Biggest thing for me was doing a burnout every run and just being able to look up and see all these fans in the stands. It really does give me chill bumps. I mean, I love it and it's awesome to see all you guys out here supporting what we do and supporting our sponsors and just coming out having a good time and living life again. We love you guys,” Hagan said. “Thanks for all you do . . to come out here and spend your hard-earned money to come out and see a show. And that's what we are. We’re showmen. We're here to put on a great show for these fans, and I think we did that today.” 

Torrence agreed: “These fans, you guys are so awesome. Matt hit the nail on the head: We're entertainers. We're in the entertainment industry, whether we like to admit it or not. We're out here racing to put on a show for you guys, and you guys make it so badass to come here, to get to go to The Zoo, to go and hang out with everybody.” 

He was having some fun before the U.S. Nationals comes around in two weeks, reminds everyone of the seven-race Countdown and all the concentration it demands. The Labor Day weekend classic is just two weeks away, and Torrence has been a vocal critic of the NHRA’s policy of resetting points and bunching the top 10 racers much closer together. 

But as he understands his 383-point advantage over (or possibly greater cushion against) Force will dwindle to just 20 points and all the other title-eligible drivers will be spaced just 10 points apart, Torrence – who already had locked in the No. 1 seeding for the playoffs – simply has resigned himself to the notion the situation isn’t going to change. 

“It is what it is,” he said, recognizing that the adjustment “gives more teams a shot at the championship, I guess, and that’s what they’re going for.  We can’t change that.  All we can do is go out and do our job.  If you win the races, the points will take care of themselves.” 

They did Sunday, despite Torrence’s efforts to give away his opportunities. He has won more than 40 percent of the races he has entered since April of 2017 (39 of 89). 

Meanwhile, Force failed Sunday in her bid for back-to-back Top Fuel victories, losing in the semifinals to Clay Millican in a rematch of their Topeka final a week before. But she recorded some stout numbers for the weekend. 

The Monster Energy Dragster driver for John Force Racing set low elapsed time of the meet in the second round of eliminations at 3.672 seconds on the 1,000-foot course. In qualifying No. 1 Saturday, she posted a track-record 334.98-mph speed that is the eight-fastest in class history. She owns six of the top eight speeds in Top Fuel’s 1,000-foot era.  

She said, “We’re still looking into what happened on that last run. It shook really hard, and it wasn’t going to drive through it. It was goingto go into tire smoke. Still trying to figure out what went wrong on the run. Overall, it was a good day. We made a semifinal round appearance. To win this championship, yes, we need to win races, but if we keep hanging in there, going rounds, No. 1 qualifiers, I know we’re still in a good position, it’s in our range. We’re chasing it down. We’re going after that championship.” 

Torrence can worry about that tomorrow. Sunday evening he could treat himself to a visit to The Zoo

HAGAN IS NO WEAK LINK EN ROUTE TO BRAINERD FC WIN - It's hard to imagine the Funny Car driver, who looks like he could bend a steel beam in two, being concerned about being weak at anything. 

Matt Hagan didn't want to be the weak link on the Dickie Venables-tuned Funny Car. 

As it turned out, Hagan proved to be a brute at the start and finish of four rounds of competition at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. Hagan picked up his second win in the last five events, stopping a surging Cruz Pedregon, 3.923, 327.98 to 3.935, 324.83. 

"We're trying to get to where we need to be, where we should be coming off of a championship run last year," Hagan said. "You kind of expected us to come out here and just set the world on fire. We just haven't been able to do that. 

"But Dickie Venables, you give that guy enough shots at the racetrack, he's a bad man. I just want to do my job up there. I'm really proud of myself in leaving the start line really well. I think most of my competitors understand that it's just going to take these tough packages. You're gonna have to leave good, You're gonna have to race good and right now, we're doing that with this Mopar car."

Hagan wasn't the only Mopar driver up on the steering wheel.

Pedregon was flexing his muscles with the Snap-on Tools team finding its groove with the leadership of John Collins in full effect. Hagan didn't dare take him lightly.

"I knew Cruz was going to be tough over there," Hagan said. "He's a good leaver, but I was just so confident in my guys and the car they've been putting under me all weekend."

Hagan was first off the starting line in three of his four races, leaving second to first-round opponent Dale Creasy Jr. by .008. He was deadly consistent, running between 3.911 to 3.932. 

For Hagan, he's learned to take a win whatever way you can get one. 
 
"This is one of the most humbling sports I've ever been involved with," Hagan said. "You can do it all right and still get it wrong and pack all your stuff up and head to the next race. I'm just really proud of my guys. They're really gelling well. We added three or four new guys this year and for them to come in and make these 30, 40-minute turns like this and get the car fired up and back up here and put a great race car underneath me says a lot."

And just like his Pomona nemesis John Force, Hagan jumped on the bandstand of fan appreciation. Packed grandstands were the norm all weekend after a one-year hiatus from Brainerd International Raceway. So was a good racing surface. 

"How about this racetrack?" Hagan asked. "I mean, it was a great show for our fans. The Brainerd track is amazing to be able to lay down those numbers out here with the sun out like that. Hats off the NHRA for gluing the hell out of this thing so we could put on a show. 

"But I just love seeing all these fans out here. Biggest thing for me was doing a burnout every run and just being able to look up and see all these fans in the stands. It really does give me chill bumps. I love it. It's awesome to see all of the fans out here supporting what we do and supporting our sponsors, and just coming out having a good time and living life again. 

"Kind of reminded me of Denver a little bit. They packed the house out there when we were out there a couple weeks ago and it's unreal. We need your guy's support. You wouldn't believe how much in the back of my pit. We had a pile of people back there as I was warming up, and they're cheering you on. And you look back like, 'damn, I don't want to let them down either."

"It pumps you up to have fans back there to root you on, to support what you do and to come out here and spend their hard-earned money to kind of come out and see a show. That's what we are; we're showmen. We're here to put on a great show for these fans and I think we did that today." Bobby Bennett Jr.

CARR DOMINATES EN ROUTE TO NHRA MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK WIN - Dominance can be a state of mind.

But for JR Carr at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., it was reality.

The former NHRA Pro Stock racer turned Mountain Motor Pro Stock superstar set a torrid 6.2-second pace which Carr turned into a convincing victory. 

Carr, the first and only large displacement Pro Stock driver to run in the 6-teens, beat the only other 6.2-second performer in Brainerd, John DeFlorian, in the final round. As easy as it might have looked in winning, Carr is quick to point out with racing this class, nothing comes easy. 

"My crew, Frank Gugliotta, my wife, they worked their tails off trying to get two cars going the whole time with one crew," Carr explained. "Definitely earned it. None of them are free. None of them are easy. We got the job done and we are tickled. I mean, it just, to win an NHRA event is huge. And a lot goes into this deal."

Carr struggled in Friday's qualifying but rebounded on Saturday in Q2 and was low elapsed time of every session and all but one elimination round after that. The only time he didn't was a semi-final bye run when teammate and crew chief couldn't make the call for the race.

"Everybody did their job all the way through the whole weekend," Carr said. "It might look easy, and these things are animals and they're fun to drive, but it dang sure isn't easy."

If running one car is a challenge, fielding two with a limited amount of crew can be, at times, overwhelming. 

"It's too much for a one-car team, and we almost pulled it off," Carr said of keeping two cars in competition. "Obviously, for qualifying and stuff, we have more time in between rounds. We weren't prepared for that. We tried to get some extra help, but it didn't work out. And so you've just got to do the best you can do."

IT'S THREE IN A ROW FOR JOSE GONZALEZ AS HE WINS BRAINERD - There appears to be no stopping Jose Gonzalez in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, as the points leader drove to his third straight win by knocking off Brandon Snider in the final round at Brainerd International Raceway.

The race, which was presented by Stinar, was the sixth of 11 events during the 2021 E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service season, and Gonzalez strengthened his points lead and championship hopes by picking up his fourth win this year.

Gonzalez put on a show in NHRA Pro Mod’s first trip to Brainerd, finishing off his weekend with a run of 5.790-seconds at 246.03 mph in his ProCharger-powered Q80 Camaro to slip past Snider’s 5.812 at 247.29. Gonzalez was also a stellar .003 on the starting line as he earned his sixth career victory in the class. 

“When you have guys like Brandon Snider, Stevie Jackson and (Justin) Bond, and everybody who races in this class, you have to be on your game,” Gonzalez said. “They’re not going to cut you any (breaks), so as much as I can do, I try to do it for the team. But it’s not me — this win goes on the team. (Tuner) Steve Petty has had this car on rails since day one and it’s just been amazing. It’s amazing how I’m feeling right now.”

Gonzalez, who was the No. 2 qualifier, reached the final round with victories against Doug Winters and Jackson, posting a .009 reaction time against Winters. With the class now in the second half of its 2021 season, Gonzalez inched closer to his first career NHRA Pro Mod world title.

Snider defeated Chad Green and Justin Bond to reach the final round for the second time this year and the fourth time in his career. He moved to second in points but trails Gonzalez by 93 points with five races remaining.

SATURDAY - FUNNY CAR’S LEE QUIETLY SPEEDS TO INFLUENTIAL POSITION IN MOTORSPORTS, MEGAN SCHUMACHER PREPS FOR BIGGER ROLE IN FUTURE, PRUETT AND ZIZZO CLOSE QUALIFYING WITH PROBLEMS, FORD FUNNY CARS TOP 334 MPH 

 

Paul Lee is not a “Look at me! Look at me!” kind of racer. 

But the Funny Car racer has a passion for this sport and this industry and journey from the academic world back to the racetrack that might surprise some fans. 

His love for drag racing caused him to give up the chance for a career as a lawyer. But on his way to a law degree from Rutgers University in his native New Jersey, Lee made a painful decision to divorce himself from drag racing altogether while he pursued his studies. In the end, his heart won the professional tug-o-war, and he is well on his way to becoming an aftermarket titan in addition to owning his Funny Car operation. 

Lee earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and was graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business. Then, armed with an Ivy League education, he added an MBA in finance from Rutgers and went on to attain a law degree. 

Top Fuel driver Krista Baldwin, creative director for Lee’s McLeod Racing and FTI Performance companies and the general manager for his Funny Car team, said, “He told me that he had to cut drag racing completely off when he was in school. He did not go to a race. He did not get a National Dragster. He did not do anything with drag racing, because obviously he knew that's what he wanted to do. But in order to succeed on that side of what he wanted to do, he had to cut it off.” 

Of course, he couldn’t step away for too long. He was a Philadelphia Stock Exchange lawyer with a promising future (as well as working as an investment banker), but, as he told Baldwin, he one day asked himself, “What am I doing with my life? I need more racing.” 

What high-powered East Coast high-finance insider wouldn’t think that? So Lee did the logical thing: he became the CFO at Boninfante Clutches. He had been friends with Rob and Nicky Boninfante since they all were youngsters. 

And this drag-racing addict from Glassboro, N.J., who started racing his mother’s Plymouth Duster at Atco Raceway as teenager, continued to race. He stepped up to an Alcohol Funny Car – and even spent one race running back and forth from his pit to a nitro Funny Car, working on clutches at both, sweating in his firesuit all that day. He raced – and won – in both the IHRA and, by 2005, the NHRA. But he continued to focus on clutches.    

“Paul is all about the clutches,” Baldwin said. 

So it truly was a logical move to buy McLeod when the opportunity arose. When he was at Boninfante, McLeod ownership had gone from Red Roberts to B&M, and B&M was getting ready to sell it again. 

“Paul saw that this is an opportunity because in his first race cars, he used to install McLeod clutches. It's like full circle on how Paul came to McLeod,” Baldwin said of the entrepreneur,” Baldwin said. 

McLeod Clutches, which operates under Lee’s Wharton Automotive Group umbrella, also owns FTI Performance and just acquired Silver Sport Transmissions. Lee also recently hired Will Baty, the off-road and research-and-development specialist. 

“He puts everything he has into making this work,” Baldwin said. “The whole goal is to have successful companies and to run a Nitro Funny Car. And that's really what he's doing. He's putting it out there. 

“Paul Lee has this vision,” she said, “and this vision will propel us to the future, not only for race cars and things that we love, but for the aftermarket world. The technology that he's purchasing and acquiring, it's quite amazing to be on this journey with him to see what he came up with in his head four years ago come to fruition. It's pretty exciting. It's a lot of fun working with him and all his brands. It's cool to see what Paul's going to do in the next five years in the aftermarket world. 

“He wants to be your one-stop shop for everything behind the drive shaft. It's like a Holley of the drivetrain market. We're going to be the premier driveline component specialist.” 

And Lee hasn’t wandered too far from his legal interests. 

“SEMA does ask him on a few occasions what he thinks or what he wants to do. He reads a lot, and he reads what's happening with SEMA, and he reads what's happening with the RPM. He’s involved,” Baldwin said. 

The Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act is common-sense, bi-partisan legislation that Congress is considering in 2021 to protect law-abiding citizens who convert their personal vehicles solely for use in racing competitions. It also protects citizens’ rights to purchase emissions-related parts intended to be installed on their racing vehicles. The RPM Act was first introduced in 2016 and the necessary steps for Congressional passage have been taken. Hearings have taken place, and the bill is well-positioned to be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate and signed into law in 2021. It is a measure that’s designed to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from trying to regulate – and, in effect, hamper racing. According to SEMA, the RPM Act is vital to racers because while the EPA is not enforcing its declared power against individual racers, the agency has stated this year that it still reserves the right to pursue enforcement. The RPM Act will ensure that enforcement won’t happen. 

Moreover, Baldwin said, “During this whole pandemic, McLeod and FTI, we have not skipped a beat, which is amazing throughout this whole thing. [Particularly through the business-slowdown phase of this period], people [couldn’t] do too much, so they work on their cars. They want to find reliable parts and pieces, and that's what McLeod and FTI does. Paul's a very good leader in the sense that he knows what he wants, and he gives all of us goals on what we want to do, or what he wants us to achieve. And we achieve them. He's a wonderful leader. He loves what he's doing.” 

And it’s showing in his performance here. 

Lee’s 331.61-mph speed during early Saturday qualifying at Minnesota’s Brainerd International Raceway was the fastest speed among all classes at the Lucas Oil Nationals until Brittany Force came along in the final qualifying session later in the day and ripped off a 334.98-second pass to take the No. 1 Top Fuel spot. Later in the third and final qualifying session, first Tim Wilkerson and then Bob Tasca III recorded 334-mph runs. 

Lee qualified a season-best fifth in the order and in Round 1 will face Bob Bode, the No. 12 starter.

MEGAN SCHUMACHER SHINES IN KEY ROLE – Don Schumacher has no specific timetable when he plans to hand over the reins of his multi-car NHRA operation to stepdaughter Megan Schumacher. 

And if one were to ask the 30-year-old with the MBA from Florida’s Lynn University to describe her typical day as Vice-President of Don Schumacher Racing, or who she interacts with most, or whether she thinks more about keeping DSR solvent and competitive or about how DSR can be a leader in growing the sport, she’ll say, “It depends.” 

That doesn’t mean she’s indecisive. It’s just the opposite. Her responsibilities are complex, fast-paced, and multi-dimensional. Somehow, she’s juggling everything with aplomb, especially considering she and husband Chad Osier, vice-president of Don Schumacher Motorsports Precision Manufacturing, are expecting their first child, a daughter, in October. 

As strange as this might sound, for Schumacher, reacting to all of her tasks in a prioritized manner is a bit like playing hockey. The behind-the-scenes action can move almost as lightning-quick as the on-track events, and the urgencies can change in a flash. Just like hockey players have to make mental switches between offense and defense, depending on whose stick the puck has just landed, Schumacher has a lively agenda just about every day. 

“That’s it exactly,” she said. 

So no such thing as a typical day exists for Schumacher. 

“That is for sure, and that's one of the things that I think is so fun about it is that you never know what every day will bring.” 

She works with a different mix of colleagues and business acquaintances each day. 

“I would say it depends on the day, but in general, I would say the majority of my time is spent with Don,” she said, but quickly added that she interacts a lot with DSR’s Senior Vice-President Mike Lewis and General Manager/Human Resources Manager Hali Warnick. “Then I also work closely with our PR – Allison McCormick and Cassandra Pollock, who is managing our social media . . . and our marketing teams. So I would say my day-to-day revolves around our management staff, also our PR team. Any given week is obviously also our drivers, our sponsors-hunter. It just really depends on what's going on where we are.” 

As if that weren’t enough, Schumacher has the tricky task of maintaining a balance between keeping DSR focused and solvent on one hand and a natural desire (and corporate duty) to grow the sport. 

Both are significant, and figuring it out, she said, “is definitely a balancing act as to what needs our attention at any given moment. I think twofold. I think you're going to have to deal with everything as it comes, but I think, too, for the terms of looking towards the future. I think a lot of what you're living in the present day gives you ideas and helps shape what that's going to look like. So it honestly just depends on, I would say, the time of year. So for us, for example, once we hit fall, we’re managing what's happening on track and then also managing, ‘OK - What's next year going to look like for our teams?’ You're doing them hand-in-hand. I can't say, ‘Oh, it's 60/40 or it's 50/50 once we hit October.’ It just depends on what's going on, but you just do it. It’s just second nature where you're like, ‘OK - We're going to focus on the future today, but then tomorrow it's going to be a race day so we're going to focus on the job at hand. We’ll deal with the future again on Monday.’” 

The some days are “retro” days, when the team’s and sport’s histories are on the front burner. And her mind has to shift in yet another direction. 

“That's exactly how it always happens, too, where we're just like, ‘OK – wait, wait, wait - Are we present day? Where are we?’” Schumacher said. 

Sometimes her day includes a trip to a corporate boardroom or meetings with current or potential marketing partners. 

Schumacher said she definitely has been involved in those kinds of discussions “and that has been quite a great experience for me. And what's great is so many of our partners have been such long-term partners that most of them have seen me grow up over the years. So to be able to have their, let’s say . . . patience, while you're    learning the way. That's been very helpful. And then obviously, in the past, I would say 10 or so, years I have been much more hands-on in those meetings and those discussions from the beginning, and then through finalizing deals and relationships.” 

So she said she has no fear that the current sponsors aren’t simply friends of Don Schumacher, that they’ll drift away when he eases out of the foreground. 

“I definitely would say it is not [a concern],” she said. “I think that's one thing – I'm really lucky that I have been hands-on and involved from the start. So there aren't any surprises to any of our partners in that way. They're all very welcoming, and I don't see any issues ahead in any way.” 

But the day when she will handle those negotiations and initiate such conversations completely on her own has not come yet and might not come anytime soon. Don Schumacher has not hinted at all that he is ready to pass the baton. 

“He has such a passion for NHRA racing, for obviously DSR, and he loves it out here. It's one of his greatest happinesses. So he definitely does not have a time frame in terms of stepping away in any capacity at all,” Megan Schumacher said. “Our plan is just that we will continue to work hand-in-hand and he'll just continue to be a great teacher for me and leader for our teams. 

“I would say that we are a good balance to each other. I have been by his side learning the ropes of the businesses for so long that that has also given me the strength and confidence to have that gut-check instinct to be like, ‘OK, this type of situation arises. Let's hit the brakes for a second. Let's look at the big picture of this’ and then proceed, decide how we're going to move forward. And I think a lot of that is just sometimes you're taking a second, being like, ‘OK, this is what we need to do here’ and then moving forward. 

“One of the things that Don has also always instilled in me and also everyone here, is to put good people around you. So even though I don't have the ‘seat of my pants’ feel that Don has with being like, ‘OK - These crew chiefs would fit x-driver so well, because of this level of tuning,’ whatever that story may be. I will make sure that those people are in place, and this would be my recommendation. Not one person, in most cases, can do it all in that regard. So I will definitely make sure that when the time comes that the proper people are in place so that we don't have too many learning curves like that.” 

By mid-October, Megan Schumacher will be in the middle of her own Countdown. 

“My plan is after Indy, I'm going to just be working remotely for the remainder of the season. After Indy, I can no longer travel per doctor's orders, and then I plan to be back. The one thing that is nice about the timing is I will have a couple months to get my feet under me, get our newborn on some sort of schedule, whatever that's going to look like, before our season would even begin in February. So I'll definitely have some time to adjust to everything going on. But I plan to work throughout. Thankfully again, going back to the people, we know that besides our family, we’ll be able to put up great team around us. It'll definitely be something to learn and navigate our way through, but I have no doubt that we'll find a way through.” 

MISSION ABORTED – T.J. Zizzo’s Rust-Oleum Rocket fizzled on the launch pad in the third overall and final Top Fuel qualifying session Saturday. Crew chief Mike Kern ordered the engine cut off just after it fired up. 

Kern was scratching his head about what caused the problem. 

“Not quite sure yet,” the crew chief said as the car was being rolled away from the line. “Something in the fuel system is a little off-kilter. We’ll go back and take a look. All we can do is fix it and try to go race tomorrow.” 

Kern said, “The front two cylinders were just pouring fuel out. Warmed up beautiful, so I don't know at this point. So we'll just have to figure it out.” 

Zizzo said at the end of Saturday’s activity, “With only 11 cars, you have the opportunity to test things. We had a couple philosophies we wanted to go after today. We had some ideas over the winter about how to apply the clutch earlier in the run. We tried that in Q2, and it didn’t work out. It was too aggressive and blew the tires off. No big deal. Those are easy fixes.” 

As for the problem at the close of qualifying, he said, “In Q3, unfortunately, we had No. 1 and No. 3 spark plug wires swapped. The car was fixed before we got it back to the pits. We are a smart enough team and good enough team to recognize, to see, to feel, and to notice issues before we roll up and do a burnout. It saved us a lot of aggravation and a big explosion.” 

Zizzo took the No. 10 starting position, and his short-field draw for the opening round of eliminations was No. 3 Mike Salinas. 

“The wonderful thing is we have Mile Salinas first round. He has a good car and a great team,” said Zizzo. “We will do a better job tomorrow, it is as simple as that. Of course, days like today are disappointing. You realize how much work this is when you have been away from the racetrack. All our guys put a lot of time and effort into racing. We will do what we always do, get reorganized and get back after it tomorrow. I don’t remember the last time we had an issue like that at the starting line. That is how infrequent an issue like that for this team is.”  

‘MASSIVELY ASKEW’ – Leah Pruett will start from the No. 8 position, which in an 11-car field has a little bit of a different path than usual through the eliminations bracket Sunday. Her Round 1 match-up with Justin Ashley will be one of several monster pairings, but if she or if Ashley can make it through two rounds, she or he will have a semifinal free pass into the final round. 

So the Don Schumacher Racing driver of the Mopar Dragster only can hope she doesn’t have a repeat of her Q3 starting-line incident. Her engine detonated at the first hit of the throttle. 

“Oh, my goodness. Well, I do know this,” she said, searching for reasons why the engine blew up. “I know that we've been missing a little bit of our horsepower in the last couple races, and we've been on a mission to find it, to find that Mopar power and feeling good about it. If that had anything to do with right there, I don't think so. I mean, clearly, something was massively askew immediately when I stepped on the throttle, and everything worked like it should have to be able to pull off to the side. But something that big right there, I guarantee you has a very big problem. We're going to find it immediately and fix it, and we're going to be ready for eliminations tomorrow.” 

FORCE CREW CHIEF WRINKLES NOSE AT TRACK-RECORD RUN - Brittany Force went out in the third and final qualifying session Saturday and put on a spectacular display for the Brainerd crowd. And normally her crew chief, David Grubnic, would be grinning from ear to ear. But he was a bit annoyed with her 3.675-second elapsed time at a track-record 334.98 mph – and his reaction was no reflection on the outstanding job she did, per se. 

“In an 11-car field, we’d rather the Torrence group kept No. 1,” Grubnic said immediately after her stellar performance that gave her five straight No. 1 starting spots and seven total for the season. He said he was “shooting for a [3.]68. We overshot it. That might still get beat.” 

It didn’t. 

What Grunbic was thinking about was the non-traditional ladder the shortened field will follow in Sunday’s eliminations. The happy news is that Force will have a bye run and advance into the second round. There she will meet the winner of the Antron Brown-Shawn Langdon first-round pairing. But if she is to earn back-to-back victories after last weekend’s Topeka triumph, she will have no freebies into the final. No. 2-qualified Steve Torrence – the racer she is trying to catch for her second championship - could get a bye into the final round . . . if he can get past Terry Totten, then the winner of the Leah Pruett-Justin Ashley battle. 

Grubnic’s irritation solely was with the way the ladder played out, not with Force’s performance. 

Meanwhile, Force said she sensed “a different energy in our pits” after the Topeka feat and said winning “makes bad days suck a little less.” Eyeing the U.S. Nationals, which will set the Countdown fields Labor Day weekend at Indianapolis, she said, “We’re in a good place.” She said her goal was to be in the top three in the standings when the seven-race Countdown starts, and she’s ranked second behind Torrence. After Sunday and this next race, she said, “everything we do matters, and you can’t make any mistakes.” 

Force said she’s “still on a high after winning alongside my dad in Topeka this last weekend. Doubling up with my dad has been a goal of mine since the start of my career. Year after year I realized just how tough lining that up would be. It's not easy going four rounds on race day, and trying to do that in two separate fields seemed impossible. But Sunday in Topeka we both had the best cars and teams on the track. Celebrating in the winners circle with the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team and my dad’s PEAK Chevy team is something I'll never forget.” 

It had been hard enough just for her alone, trying to turn her qualifying dominance into race-day dominance. Now her appetite for more victories is even greater. “This Monster Energy team will be on the hunt for another win,” Force said. “With the Countdown so close, we have to keep on this upward momentum. Our goal is to repeat what we did last weekend, because we're chasing down that points lead.”  

CLOSE CALL – Antron Brown qualified sixth in the Top Fuel order, improving his time in each of Saturday’s two sessions and earning one bonus point with his early run. (In the final session, he ran a 3.752-second pass at 328.22 mph to match Justin Ashley for fifth overall, but Ashley had the advantage on speed by just .08 mph.) That slight disadvantage means that Brown will have to race his way through the field if he is to go to the final in pursuit of a second victory this year. Meanwhile, Ashley will have the chance to advance two rounds and get a free pass into the final round. That’s how close the competition is and how high the stakes are. 

For the second week in a row, Brown will put his Matco Tools/Toyota/Sirium XM Dragster up against DHL/Toyota Dragster driver Shawn Langdon in the opening round. Langdon qualified seventh with a 3.774-second E.T. and clinched his spot in the Countdown to the Championship. 

Brown said, “It was a good day today here at Brainerd. We’ve been working on so many things, and we’re looking at turning that corner. We’re real pumped up for race day with the way this Matco Dragster ran today. We’ll have a real tough Toyota matchup with Shawn Langdon – again. We always look forward to racing the best. We’ll stay focused and go out there, and our car is looking very sporty this weekend. We had two consistent runs today, and the track here at Brainerd is very, very good. We’re looking forward to picking up the performance just a bit. We’ll need it against that DHL car. I’m very pleased with the team and what we’re learning and getting prepared for the Countdown.” 

MILLICAN VS. KALITTA AGAIN – Clay Millican’s crew chief, Mike Kloeber, decided not to make a Friday qualifying attempt at Brainerd, putting all his eggs in the Saturday basket. And the strategy paid off, landing him the No. 4 spot. 

His car behaved consistently Saturday, with a 3.722-second clocking early on and a 3.721 in his last pass of the day. 

Kloeber was happy because the conditions were a pretty strong match for the Sunday forecast. He said just before the Q3 run that he was testing the racetrack, trying to see if “hopefully we can catapult ourselves a little higher up for the Countdown.” 

Millican said after his Q2 pass, “That is super impressive. What a lot of folks don't know is we had to swap some clutch discs. Mike told me on the radio right then, ‘You have no idea how big a guess that was.’ But it looks like it worked out.” 

The WalMart/Parts Plus Dragster driver said he sat out Friday’s opportunity to save fuel and parts and because he knew the conditions were going to change. 

“A little bit of all of it,” Millican said, “but mainly because we knew these were going to be the conditions to lay a number down. Whatever Mike Klober and everybody on this Parts Plus team decides, I'm all in, because I'm going to stomp on that loud pedal.” 

Millican will take on Doug Kalitta, who is ready to secure his Countdown berth. Kalitta has lost to Millican in each of the two most recent races, at Pomona and Topeka. 

“You like to go back to places where you have won, and Brainerd is one of those tracks,” Kalitta said. “It has been a while since we won in Minnesota, but we haven’t forgotten how to turn on win lights. We are searching for some consistency right now, but we have a couple races before the Countdown so no one is panicking in the Mac Tools pit.”
 
The Mac Tools team has been in the championship conversation every year for almost two decades, and this season the worst starting place for the Countdown he could have would put him 110 point behind the leader. And that’s a margin he can slice through with a bit of better luck. 

“We haven’t had much luck, and I know you make your own luck in this sport,” Kalitta said. “We have been chasing a few things, but lately we haven’t been hurting the race car. So that will help us this weekend. 

“The Countdown is a huge equalizer,” he said. “We have gone into the playoffs at the top, and this year we definitely struggled in the regular season. We are going to have to get some win lights this weekend and in Indy, for sure.” 

TORRENCE PREPPING FOR PLAYOFFS – Steve Torrence was ninth and last among Friday’s qualifiers, but he rebounded in Capco Contractor Dragster fashion, zipping to the top of the order Saturday afternoon in Q2. 

“We tried to run really hard last night, and it just didn't take it,” he said following his 3.684-second, 329.91-mph pass. “But, I mean, the conditions, we knew they were going to be throw-down when we came here. Richard [crew chief Hogan] was licking his chops yesterday. We've got the liberty right now that we can experiment a little bit. We're locked into that No. 1 spot on the Countdown. So we're trying some stuff, and we need to be really taking advantage of the situation that we have. So we're going to try to go out and stand on it and just see what we can do. We need to be prepared for that Countdown.” 

Torrence, soloing this weekend without 2018 Brainerd winner dad Billy, finished No. 2 in qualifying and will race Terry Totten in the first round of Sunday eliminations. If he should beat Totten and the winner of the Justin Ashley-Leah Pruett pairing, he could skate into yet another final round. 

 

FRIDAY - BODE’S FUNNY CAR RIG HAS SCARY INCIDENT EN ROUTE TO BRAINERD, CREASY FEELING AT HOME, ‘SUPER PART-TIMER’ ZIZZO STRIKES AGAIN, TOTTEN KNOWS HOW TO MAKE MOST OF ONE ENGINE, ASHLEY ANTICIPATES FIRST COUNTDOWN 

One of the biggest feel-good stories in NHRA Funny Car history was Bob Bode’s one and so-far only victory at Northern Minnesota’s Brainerd International Raceway in 2010. 

He has raced since then but late last year at Houston, he turned his race car over to son Bobby, who’s 19 now. But with Bobby Bode starting his sophomore year at Arizona State University at Tempe Friday, Dad got another chance at this weekend’s Lucas Oil Nationals to try to recreate the magic from 11 years ago. 

But the team had a harrowing experience on the way up to Brainerd, Minn., from their base at the Chicago suburb of Barrington, Ill. 

A left front tire on the Ar-Bee team transport rig exploded while en route to the racetrack. The front of the truck incurred substantial damage, but the entire crew was safe and thankful that when the rig veered off the road and into the median through the retaining wires that the median was relatively flat. 

They all agreed the rig was mere inches from rolling over. Bob Bode told Competition Plus that it will take a few months to recover from these damages but if the hauler had rolled over and destroyed the trailer and equipment, he would have had to fold up his racing operation and quit entirely. 

The team arrived at Brainerd late Friday morning and was thrashing to get the car ready for the earlier- than-scheduled lone run at 3 p.m. 

Bob Bode had said that because he hadn’t been in the seat for a while and therefore would need every run before Sunday’s eliminations that he could get. However, the crew simply didn’t have enough time to prepare the car for a Friday run. He is hoping the weather cooperates and he’ll have two more opportunities to get down the track. 

So this “Son, can I borrow the car?” adventure got off to a scary start. But the organization has had a commendable showing this year. In his first race, last fall at Houston, the younger Bode qualified seventh in the 16-car field, and this season he has qualified for all five events he has entered. He’s still seeking his first round-win.

Just when he was getting in a groove, he stepped out of the car for this weekend to return to school for the start of fall semester.

“Bobby’s first day as a sophomore at ASU is Friday, and he did not want to miss his first day of school and get all his teachers mad at him,” Dad said. But he did say that Bobby Bode “will drive at Indy.”

Although he will be an 1,800-mile drive away from Brainerd, Bobby Bode this weekend no doubt will be thinking back to that happy day in August 11 years ago.

“I definitely remember the weekend when my dad won. I was eight,” Bobby Bode said. “I remember sitting in the stands for the final, and everyone was cheering. It was funny, because before [that final] round, I got a blue snow cone, and I was eating it during the final. In the winner's circle picture, I had blue lips from the snow cone. The picture was on National Dragster, on the cover.”

One of these days, if he continues to progress, his name will be on every fan’s lips. 

DÉJÀ VU – When Funny Car racer Dale Creasy made the trip up here from his Beecher, Ill., home, just south of Joliet, for this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, he was, in a sense, at home. 

Creasy on Wednesday pulled into the parking spot he has used for his past 24 trips to Brainerd International Raceway. 

His first trip here to compete in the Funny Car class came in 1997. He still needed one pass at the proper speed to complete his licensing procedure. He made a single pass and posted a 5.40-second elapsed time at 285 mph to earn his license.  

As he was sharing the memory with Competition Plus photographer Roger Richards, he got goosebumps all over his arms. He said, “It still makes me thrilled to do this. I do not ever want to lose this feeling. Think about it. In the entire world, there are less than 1,000 people who get to do this. I plan to do this for at least 24 more years.” 

TOTTEN BACK IN COCKPIT – Mike Bucher and Joey Haas have been taking turns driving Terry Totten’s Vita C-sponsored Top Fuel dragster, with the boss as crew chief. But for the second straight weekend, the boss is back behind the wheel – and doing his own tuning, as well. 

“Love driving. Also tuning,” Totten said. But with a laugh he said, “Would like to drive once when I'm not crew chief. 

“Joey drives as he gets money, and Mike drives as he gets money. I drive when they don't and it’s within the travel distance of eight to nine hours,” he said. 

What caught everyone’s attention at Denver is the fact Haas advanced to the final round at Denver in July, using the same motor for all four rounds. What might stun even more is Totten’s revelation that “in fact, I've ran this same motor all year.  We run at the threshold. If we go faster and run harder, we would not be able to do that.  Stepping into the low 3.90s to high 3.80s will cause us to hurt more parts. I have the crank out and magnafluxed about every six runs, and we watch the crank very close.” 

However, he said he didn’t think anyone should expect to see the rest of the field follow suit: “At the level the other guys run, I don’t think it would be possible.” 

Totten said he has “nothing definite” lined up for the rest of the year but he’ll “maybe run one more race, then see what changes we need to do to the car for next year.” 

One thing he does know is that he and the team won’t be competing at the U.S. Nationals, the final race of the so-called “regular season,” two weeks from now at Indianapolis. 

“We are sitting out Indy,” Totten said. “NHRA has plenty of cars that weekend, and I am lacking help, as my crew has prior obligations with family and work.” 

COUNTDOWN NEW EXPERIENCE – Sophomore Top Fuel driver Justin Ashley continues to experience new aspects of the sport. Brainerd International Raceway isn’t new to him, though. He earned the Top Alcohol Dragster trophy here in 2017. 

What’s fresh to the 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year is the concept of the Countdown to the Championship, navigating his way into it and strategizing about how to move toward the top once the seven-race “playoff” begins. The NHRA suspended the Countdown format last year during the pandemic-shortened schedule. 

“My rookie year they didn’t have the Countdown, so working on putting ourselves in a position to win a championship under this format is a new experience for me,” Ashley, driver of Davis Motorsports’ Smart Sanitizer Dragster powered by Strutmasters.com, said. “We’ll take one qualifying session, one round and one race at a time. Brainerd is our priority. However, one of our big goals coming into the season was making the Countdown. I am really happy with how well our team is working together. And getting two races in a row like Topeka and Brainerd will only help keep us in a good racing groove.” 

Just two races remain before the fields are set for the top 10 drivers in each pro class to start their scrambles for the series crowns. 

Entering this event, Ashley was in seventh place, 48 points behind No. 6 Mike Salinas and 213 ahead of No. 11 Josh Hart. If Ashley can leave Brainerd with a lead of at least 188 points, he will clinch his first berth in the Countdown and race for his first Top Fuel championship in the NHRA playoff format. 

Hart, who has competed part-time in his rookie season, opted out of both last weekend’s Topeka race and this weekend here at Brainerd. So he started the weekend 161 points behind No. 10 Doug Kalitta. Hart has secured space at Brownsburg, Ind., and has been in the process of relocating his race shop from Ocala, Fla. The logistics of the move have interfered with preparing himself and his dragster to be on the racetrack. He said midweek via social media, “I wish it would [have] worked out, but as a team owner, driver, and sponsor, I have to make hard decisions to make the program as effective as possible.”

Ashley, meanwhile, raced to the finals at Pomona and has continued to work on his reaction times to remain one of the quickest off the starting line. 

“I know what this team can do, and the last [few races] are proof of that. We are creating momentum at the perfect time of the season. We are all looking forward to Brainerd and of course Indianapolis, the biggest race of the year,” Ashley said.  

‘SUPER PART-TIMERS’ – Rust-Oleum Dragster driver T.J. Zizzo has coined a phrase for the racers like him who compete on a part-time basis and know how to go rounds.

“I call us ‘super part-timers.’ Super part-time is really what we are,” he said. “We led the charge in competitive part-time teams. Now I’m seeing it more and more, where there’s a handful of guys who go out on a part-time basis but you count ’em in when they’re on the entry list.

“And I take great pride in probably our team being able to get fulltime team members fired from their position – because ‘How can these Zizzos come in here on part-time basis, and guess what? They outqualify us. That’s not right. I’m paying you guys full-time salaries to make our team the best it can be, and these super part-time guys come in here and [outshine us].’ We take pride in stuff like that,” Zizzo said.

One of the reasons his team is competitive, he said, is that he has “had the same people on our team for nearly 20 years. To be able to go out and compete with the best of the best, the Doug Kalittas of the world, the Steve Torrences of the world, and have their respect, is pretty bad-ass. That is like playing minor-league baseball and being able to go to the majors whenever the heck you want.”

He has a choice, an all-American concept, rather than being controlled by a system. And that’s unique.

“I love it. And there was a time when I didn’t have a choice. We, as a collective team, all make choices about what we want to do and where we want to go. That’s a wonderful situation. I still have to make sure all our marketing partners are happy with us and what we’re doing. Then we can go out and kick some ass,” Zizzo said. “I think since 2015, we’ve gone to events and qualified in the top half of the field or right there and expected to win first round, race in and race out. I’m not saying it’s going to happen at Brainerd, but the chances are pretty good.”

Zizzo got off to an impressive start for the weekend in his first appearance of the year, qualifying in the provisional first half of the field with a 3.861-second elapsed time at 317.87 mph. Especially for sitting out the past 10 months, he had a decent reaction time, .089 of a second.

“We have a crosswind, so they just made it easy for me and went straight down the groove. No issues whatsoever,” Zizzo said following the pass. “I brought ’er a little right when I knew the wind was going to come past the grandstands. That worked out well. I believe I went right down the racetrack. 

“It feels great to stand on the gas on one of these things,” he said. “I drive a 2004 Toyota Avalon every day with a whopping 240 horsepower. So to come out here and step on the gas in one of these deals is a hoot. It really is.”

Zizzo has his racing interests in perspective.

“When you have other jobs and other obligations throughout the work year, racing interrupts that,” he said. “We could have gone out months ago, but we have a lot of things happening in our businesses [including a busy auto-body shop in Lincolnshire, Ill.]. So [we thought,] ‘Let’s get some of that organized and continue to work on our race car, make improvements, and go out when we are ready. We have a great group of guys who show up and work on our race car, no matter what I’m doin’.”

It sounds a bit like when couples say they’ll start a family or buy a house “when the time is right.” No time is perfect for a drag racer – and yet, any time is perfect.

“I guess that’s the beauty of our situation,” Zizzo said. “Our marketing partners aren’t pushy. We have an obligation to them, and all we have to do is fulfill it, with their blessing. It’s kind of a perfect situation. Yeah, I say, ‘when we’re ready,’ but we’re racers – we’re always ready and eager to race. So I don’t think it’s quite like a pregnancy or buying a house – it’s a lot more fun than all that stuff.”

He said, “I still love what we do. For years, people have asked, ‘Why don’t you try to go fulltime? Because I’ve got way many other things going on. This is important to me. It’s part of my lifestyle - drag racing is a lifestyle. I’m taking a lot of time from my wife and kids to be able to compete at a very high level when we do go. But I love it because I don’t have to worry about it every day. I don’t have to worry if we’re No. 1 in points or if our sponsor’s happy with us or ‘Do I have enough money coming in?’ or ‘Holy s---! I just blew a body off the car and I’ve got to go find one for the next weekend.’ I can just park it for a little while and go back to it later.

“It is a love affair,” he said of drag racing. “That’s why fans like us – because we treat it as recreation, as fun. That’s what it is. There’s a delight to that. There’s truly an enjoyment.”

Fans certainly enjoyed seeing Zizzo advance to his first final round at Indianapolis last year and finish the rain-delayed final round at the U.S. Nationals there last September. But he’ll be skipping the U.S. Nationals this time around – because he can. And he said he sees a trend.

“I think the sport has come back a little bit to the Pat Dakins and the T.J. Zizzos and the Doug Foleys of the world,” he said. With that, the balance of power might be beginning to shift from multi-car-team dominance to single-car team threats l;eveling the playing field.

“I think the sport has peeled back a little bit of wondering what those megateams are going to look like in the future and what marketing looks like and ‘How many races are we going to? And is 24 races too many, and is 21 not enough?’ I don’t know,” Zizzo said. “But I’m really in a happy spot.”

LOOKING FOR FIRST BRAINERD VICTORY – Steve Torrence’s accomplishments in the Capco Contractors Dragster are well-documented. They include winning 43 percent of the Top Fuel races he has entered (38 of 88) within the past five seasons and almost 82 percent of his individual match-ups (81.8 percent, or 225 of 275).

But statistics can be fickle. And Torrence knows not to live by them, because for all his shiny stats, the one that has confronted him this weekend is his winning percentage at Brainerd: zero. This is the lone racetrack at which Torrence never has won, never has reached a final round, and never has earned a No. 1 qualifying position. 

“We just never have been able to put everything together,” Torrence said of his “jinx” here. “We’ve run well.  I think we qualified second the last two races [2018 and 2019], and I know we’ve been to the semifinals a couple times [2008 and 2018]. I’m glad to be back, though. I think as a group we respond pretty well to challenges like this.  With Richard Hogan, Bobby Lagana, and the rest of the Capco Boys behind me, I never go up there thinking I’m not going to win, no matter what the numbers say.  I know we’ve got a car that can win. We just have to go out and do it.”

He and his team have proven that they can perform spectacularly. They have won six of the season’s 11 races to date, claimed their fifth consecutive “regular-season” titles that ensure top seeding for the Countdown, and blazed to three straight series championships. And at the start of Friday’s qualifying session, Torrence was 342 points ahead of No. 2-ranked Brittany Force and 354 ahead of No. 3 Antron Brown.

Billy Torrence, Steve’s father and founder of Capco Contractors, won the 2018 Brainerd race from the No. 1 starting position and set top speed of the meet (330.96 mph).

So who’s considered the favorite here this weekend? The top candidates are a pair of top-five-ranked women, Brittany Force and Leah Pruett. Force, last weekend’s winner at Topeka, has been No. 1 qualifier at the past four races and six times overall this season. Pruett, the Pomona winner at the start of this month, has won here two of the past three times the NHRA has visited (2017 and 2019). In 2017, Pruett set the track elapsed-time record at 3.640 second, and Force set the track speed record at 333.16 mph.

Torrence has been a steadfast opponent of the Countdown. Nevertheless, he said he’s looking forward to starting it after this race and the U.S. Nationals determine the order of the 10 drivers eligible to compete for the title. Like it or not, he has to march through the Countdown – this time seven races rather than the customary six – if he is going to become just the seventh NHRA racer and first since Top Fuel’s Tony Schumacher in 2009 to win four consecutive crowns. (The others who have scored four or more straight championships are John Force, Bob Glidden, Kenny Bernstein, Don Prudhomme, Lee Shepherd, and Schumacher.)

“It’s always [tough] to have to give up a big lead,” Torrence said, referring to the NHRA policy of resetting points and bunching up the drivers at the start of the Countdown. “But we know we’ve got a race car that’s bad to the bone. We’re not planning on doing anything different the next two weeks, and we’re sure not going to do anything different in the playoffs.”

READY TO RUMBLE – John Force, fresh from his historic Topeka victory after which he shared the winners podium with Top Fuel-driving daughter Brittany Force, sounds like he is ready for another championship fight. 

Now a three-time winner this year in his PEAK Chevy Camaro after sitting out all but the first two races of 2020, Force said this week, “It’s important to me to remember that I’m where I am because of the support I have, support from my sponsors, my team, and the fans. The fans are important. The fans are why we do what we do. We couldn’t do this without them. I’m looking forward to Brainerd, looking forward to seeing the crowds, the grandstands full. We are here to compete, to win races but also to entertain. It’s the best part of the job - it IS the job. This PEAK team, we’re putting on a show. Robert and Auto Club, Brittany with Monster Energy and Flav-R-Pac, we’re here along with all our competitors to put on a show and fight for a championship. The Countdown is right around the corner.”

Force leads the standings for the first time since the March 2014 Gatornationals, and he has a 20-8 eliminations-round mark so far this season. He has qualified first eight times and has won a record 11 times at Brainerd International Raceway, most recently in 2007. He also finished as runner-up in 2013 and 2014.

Robert Hight, his teammate and vice-president of his company – and one of his fiercest rivals, also is ready to rock this weekend and challenge the new points leader. The two-time winner (at Houston and Sonoma) and four-time finalist this year is just 68 points off Force’s pace – and he’s tied with Matt Hagan for fifth place.

“I’ve said it before, I think this Funny Car field is one of the most competitive we’ve ever had,” Hight, who drives the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro said. “I don’t think it’s ever been this close, the top six all within 70 points of the lead, it goes to show you how hard you have to work and how consistent you have to be. We were a little off last weekend, but [crew chiefs] Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham are known for turning things around in a hurry.” 

In the two races since he won at Sonoma, Hight has not gotten past the quarterfinals. So he said he was “looking forward to Brainerd, getting back in the seat, gaining some consistency trying to build some momentum.” Hight said, “I’ve done well here in the past, so I’m hoping to build on that. The Countdown to the Championship is coming up quick, so it’s time to really get in gear and get this Auto Club Chevy back into the winner’s circle.” 

REGROUPED – Cruz Pedregon and his team could have driven the 630 miles from Topeka to Brainerd after the Kansas race concluded. Instead, they took the scenic route that was twice as far. After Tim Wilkerson’s misbehaving Mustang crossed the center line and collided with Pedregon’s car during qualifying at Heartland Motorsports Park, the Snap-on team needed to swing by the shop and do some extra work. 

"The team re-directed after Kansas to head back to the shop on the way to Brainerd to pick up some parts and repair and rebuild some that were damaged last weekend,” Pedregon said. “We had one of those unfortunate racing things happen when we got tangled-up with Tim's car. Thankfully, neither of us was hurt and we can both get our cars fixed. He's a great racer and gentleman, so there's no issue there. I'm sure he wished he could have that one back. I've been there myself.” 

He’s driving the primary Snap-on “Makers and Fixers” Dodge Hellcat body this weekend and will stick with that through the Labor Day weekend U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis. 

The John Collins-and Rip Reynolds-led crew also has been reviewing a clutch issue that seemed to be the culprit in Pedregon’s exit in the semifinals last weekend. 

Despite all that, Pedregon said he's in a "good position" to capitalize on the momentum he has built with his Norwalk victory and three semifinal appearances in the year’s first 11 races. And part of his confidence and excitement comes from his fondness for the racing surface here at Brainerd and the region’s animated fans. 

"The track at Brainerd is a really good one with a nice surface,” he said, “and the fans always turn out there to experience great drag racing. We appreciate our NHRA fans so much, and the ones we get to see and interact with in Minnesota are always engaged." 

Pedregon was ranked eighth following last weekend’s race. 

NO KISS NECESSARY – In an interview this week with Competition Plus publisher Bobby Bennett, John Force reiterated his love for brothers Cruz and Tony Pedregon, even gave a shout-out to the Snap-on Tools Dodge driver that “I want you to join John Force Racing. I love you.” 

But when he mentioned Tony Pedregon, his former Funny Car teammate, Force said, “Oh, Tony Pedregon, I’d kiss him right on the lips if he was standing here. He’s the most beautiful kid. When he drove for me, he was just the best, and he’s very talented.” 

Tony Pedregon got a chuckle out of it and said, “I would say I believe him, that he doesn’t need to prove it with a lip smack.” 

But he set the record straight for anyone who thinks their over-hyped quarrel in 2009, at Indianapolis. 

“I think most people misunderstand my relationship with John. Just because we disagreed on a couple of things doesn’t change the eight good years we spent together,” Pedregon said. 

IRKED DE JORIA MOTIVATED – Alexis De Joria has been ticked off. 

“I am mad because I am tired of losing. We all are. We have the team and the car and everything it takes right now to win,” the ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota Camry driver said. 

De Joria, whose final-round appearance at Denver offered a glimpse of her performance potential with this car and crew chiefs Del Worsham and Nicky Boninfante, lost a heart-breaker to Cruz Pedregon in the second round at Topeka last weekend. They had identical 4.006-second elapsed times, and Pedregon won on a holeshot by a .0202-second margin, or about nine feet. He left first, with a .091-second reaction time to her .111. 

“It is upsetting because he was there for the taking,” DeJoria said. “If I would have had one of my normal lights from [that] weekend we would have won on a holeshot. That hurts more than anything.” 

“That four flat was probably the longest run ever,” she said. “Just seeing the hood of his car out my side window the entire way down was tough. I was hoping I would pass him, but I never did. I was upset with myself when I got back to my lounge and my guys said I could have five more minutes to be mad and then I needed to shake it off.” 

Ultimately, she said, “I am tough. That’s racing.” And that’s when she set her sights on this weekend at Brainerd. She’ll be taking one more shot at recording her first Funny Car victory since coming out of retirement – at the same racetrack where she won her most recent race, in 2017. Moreover, it’s where De Joria made track history by running the first sub-four-second Funny Car pass there in 2014. 

“That win [in 2017] was a big one for us, and we want to add to that total,” DeJoria said after grabbing the tentative No. 2 qualifying spot with a 3.963-second E.T. that only Bob Tasca III topped at 3.941 seconds. “We have a great race car and we have been close to getting a win this season. We have all the pieces in place, and we just need to get everything to come together on race day.” 

She has made a strong case for herself, advancing to the semifinals or beyond three times in the past five races and qualifying in the top two in six of 11 events this season. 

“Brainerd's a great place. The fans are just incredible. We've run well [here]. I ran a track record [here]. I think we were the first Funny Car team to run a sub-four second pass there, so we had the track record there for a minute. We won there in 2017, and that was my last win [before a two-year pause],” she said. “We have a really good Bandero Tequila Toyota right now and a great team to go with it. [Coming] back to Brainerd feels pretty good.” 

She’ll feel even better when she clinches a Countdown playoff berth, as she is expected to do this weekend, presuming she has another strong performance. 

“Our goal from the beginning of the season was to race for the Camping World Funny Car championship, and you have to be in the Countdown to have a shot,” DeJoria said. “We can secure our spot this weekend, and then we can focus on winning the race.” 

DeJoria has had success during this stretch of the season with her 2017 win in Brainerd and in 2014 she picked up her historic win at the U.S Nationals. The fact that her team, which returned to competition last season, now has more than 20 national events together gives DeJoria even more confidence. 

“We figured a lot of things out last year, and we were running really well at the end of 2020,” she said. “This season I think we are working together even better, and you are seeing that in the numbers we are running in qualifying and on race day. If I do my job on the starting line, we have a tremendous 1-2 punch. I can’t wait to get into the fight.” 

She came out swinging Friday. 

BROWN, BRAINERD GOOD PAIR – Antron Brown wasn’t looking past this Brainerd race when he said this week that “we’re getting geared up for Indy.” He knows it’s a key piece of the pre-Countdown puzzle: “Brainerd is that last event where you’ve really got to get it together before going to Indy.” And the driver of the Matco Tools/Toyota/Sirius XM Dragster said, “We’re looking forward to the challenge and getting after it again.”

The three-time Top Fuel champion is a five-time Brainerd winner – four times in the Pro Stock Motorcycle (2000, 2001, 2003, 2006) before claiming the Top Fuel trophy in 2011. Brown also was Top Fuel runner-up here four times (2012, 2016-2018) and was top qualifier four times (Top Fuel in 2014 and 2016 and Pro Stock Motorcycle in 2001 and  2004).

So it’s no wonder he said, “I’ve always enjoyed going out to Brainerd. It’s a great facility, and the fans are like no other. They really get you pumped up and motivated, and they’re always waiting for you at the end of the racetrack, cheering you on when you pull up to the scales. Plus, it’s always fun to enjoy some time out at ‘The Zoo.’ I have a lot of wins at Brainerd, and we’re just looking to get back on track this weekend.”

Brown won the NHRA’s final race at Atlanta in May and is on the verge of recording his 760th round-win. (His race-day record is 759-381.) He fell to third in the standings but has been in second place for most of the season, thanks to reaching the semifinal round at three of the past five races and six total in the season’s first 11 events.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – Leah Pruett, driving the Mopar Dragster for Don Schumacher Racing, is looking to break into double digits in victories. And she said she thinks cooler temperatures will bring a different vibe to this weekend’s action. 

“I feel Brainerd will bring out the beast and the best in everyone,” she said. “What I mean by that is we’ve all been fighting high temps and controlling our cars on the hot surfaces for a number of recent races, where Brainerd, which may be cooler, will bring its own heat in the form of what teams can go back to as far as making and applying more power, as the cooler forecast predicts. That is something our team is known to do in the past, and what we are looking forward to most. 

“Although our early exit in Topeka in a close drag race was not ideal, it does not take away the momentum this team has or the validation that what we are doing is in the right direction,” Pruett said. “Our biggest driver heading into Brainerd is knowing where we have room for improvement, and I can’t wait to prove that on the track for this Mopar team.”

Two of Pruett’s nine triumphs have come here, in 2017 (when she set the track elapsed-time record at 3.640 seconds) and 2019 (the last time the NHRA raced here). 

GO FISH – Of course, folks up here in the Northwoods love to go fishing. They have to do something while they’re waiting for the Camping World Drag Racing Series to return to Brainerd International Raceway. And Funny Car’s Ron Capps, driver of the NAPA Dodge Charger for Don Schumacher Racing, joined the crowd this week. 

“What the local NAPA group does in the Brainerd area leading up to and during the race weekend has always been pretty extraordinary. We have a fishing outing on Thursday every year leading into the race, which is always a great time, and I’m excited to be able to share that with my new teammates this year. It’s always fun to be able to spend time away from the track as a team,” Capps said. 

Capps enjoys coming to Brainerd – he has won this event six times (1998, 2001, 2012-2014, 2019). And he was runner-up three times (1997, 2009, 2011). 

He said he was “so happy to see Brainerd back on the schedule” after COVID restrictions forced postponement last year. “We’ve had this one circled on the calendar for quite some time,” he said. “Brainerd has been so good to me over the years, and the fans there are awesome. Once again, it’s looking like it’ll be a fantastic weekend, weather-wise., It’s going to be fast., and I’m really excited to get back [here]. We’ve got two races left in the regular season before we start the Countdown to the Championship.” 

HAGAN MAKES PROGRESS – Matt Hagan didn’t make it down the 1,000-foot course under full power during Funny Car qualifying Friday. Just the same, he said he thinks he and his Mopar Dodge Hellcat crew have solved some of the problems that beset them at Topeka last weekend. 

“The car is responding to what we’re doing. We had a random fluke thing bite us in Round 2 at Topeka that cost us the race, which as much of a bummer as that was, it’s good to know that it wasn’t a tune-up issue or something I’m doing wrong in the car. We push these parts and pieces to the extreme, and sometimes that happens. And it’s an easy fix.” 

Hagan, who is on track to secure a spot in the Countdown and start his bid for a fourth overall championship and second in a row said, “I always enjoy going to Brainerd. It’s a great facility, with a great track. I’ve never won here, but I have set a few world records here over the years. We have a bunch of races in a row coming up with the Countdown starting soon, and I’m looking forward to getting into that rhythm. I feel confident in [crew chief] Dickie Venables and what he’s doing and the changes he’s making. I feel confident moving into [this race] and putting on win lights and driving this Mopar Dodge Hellcat into the winner’s circle.” 

Although he hasn’t experienced that here yet, Hagan is a two-time runner-up (2013,2016) here and was No. 1 qualifier in 2011, 2016, and 2019.