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SUNDAY

FOR TOP FUEL'S ALBALOOSHI, IT'S A TALE OF TWO NORWALKS -  This time last year, the normally upbeat Khalid alBalooshi was frustrated.
 
He left Summit Motorsports Park with his 12th consecutive first-round Top Fuel defeat. He was upset, thinking he was letting down Qatar's Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, his team owner, and team manager Alan Johnson, crew chief Jason McCulloch, and the whole Al-Anabi Racing team.
 
"And how could this be happening?" he had to wonder. He had just won both the 2011 NHRA Pro Modified championship and the 2011 Arabian Drag Racing League crown, not to mention 158 trophies in several different classes. Surely he hadn't forgotten how to drive a race car.
 
He kept his conversation positive, and his performance and his luck started to turn around immediately after that previous trip to Norwalk, Ohio. He won a round in July at Denver, a race in October at Reading, and extended a 12-race streak of at least one round-win per event to Las Vegas this April. He had his confidence back.
 
AlBalooshi has been able to parlay that this season into an above-.500 winning percentage on race day (16-12) and a runner-up finish at Englishtown to Al-Anabi Dragster teammate Shawn Langdon.
 
After winning the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals against even more eager-to-win Doug Kalitta, alBalooshi said Sunday, "I felt our car was going to do something special this weekend."
 
Running a 3.935-second, 271.30-mph to outperform a tire-smoking Kalitta and his 4.215, 268.54 mph in the Mac Tools Dragster qualifies as special.
 
AlBalooshi also claimed the final earned berth in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout bonus race that is scheduled to take place Saturday, Aug. 31 at Indianapolis, during qualifying for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. So this $50,000 payout to the winner put him in contention to earn the $100,000 winner's share of the race-within-a-race jackpot Labor Day weekend.
 
He reached his second final round in five races at the expense of Antron Brown, Chris Karamesines, and Clay Millican.

"After we lost here a year ago, we were really down – all the luck seemed to be against us, but after we got that first win the next race, everything changed," alBalooshi said.
 
"Today, at the beginning of the day, when we won the first one [the first round, against current champion Brown], I feel, 'We'll do something this week.' Things just seemed to come together for us. My crew chief, Jason McCullough, has done a great job. We had a good car today and the luck seemed to be with us."
 
It might have come in the person of nine-year-old Jacob Delling, of Clio, Mich.
 
The Al-Anabi Pro Mod team became acquainted last week at the ADRL event at Martin, Mich., with Delling, a drag-racing "superfan" who has lost sight in both eyes. After winning, they invited the youngster to Norwalk as Al-Anabi Racing's guest this weekend.
 
"He jumped in my car and got to meet all the drivers, [among them] John Force and Tony Schumacher," alBalooshi said proudly. "Once I saw Jacob in the car, I knew I had to try to do something special this weekend. I said I want to give him the trophy. Do it for this kid."
 
And he did.
 
Then Delling celebrated another Al-Anabi victory Sunday, holding and waving alBalooshi's rather heavy Wally trophy.
 
"I think he made my weekend this week," the driver said. He added that he called Sheikh Khalid at the top end of the racetrack after winning and the sheikh said about Delling, "You find your luck with him."
 
Asked if a trip to Denver is in the works, alBalooshi turned to Delling and asked if he wanted to go to the Mopar Mile-High Nationals, the next race on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
 
"Love to!' Delling said.
 
"Let's go do it!" alBalooshi said.
  
AlBalooshi remains sixth in the standings, only 36 points out of fourth place and trailing  fifth-place Brown by 28.

He denied Kalitta his 33rd career victory and his first since July 2010 at Denver. That stretched Kalitta's dry spell to 65 races. Kalitta defeated Troy Buff and Spencer Massey, then holeshotted Shawn Langdon to advance to his first final round since June 17, 2012, at Bristol, Tenn.
 
With a week off before the July 19-21 Denver race, alBalooshi will be going home to
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for a brief visit. Perhaps he'll join his family to celebrate his 34th birthday, which is coming up July 27, as qualifying is set to wrap up at Sonoma, Calif.
 
"I am very lucky to be racing for Sheikh Khalid here in the United States," alBalooshi said, "but I don't want to change who I am at home in Dubai. I am not a big star or anything like that.  I spend a lot of time away from Dubai because I live here in the United States [at Los Angeles] now. But when I go back home, I want to be the same person.  I don't want my friends to think, 'Oh, he thinks he is something big because he races in the United States.' I am still the same person, and I like to be with my friends when I go home. I am still just alBalooshi."
 
He's more than that to Jacob Delling. He's the one who spins magic moments. He's more than 'just alBalooshi' to crew chief McCulloch and team manager Johnson. To them he's a gritty competitor. And to everyone at Summit Motorsports Park Sunday afternoon, he's a winner.


GRAY CLAIMS ANOTHER FUNNY CAR VICTORY - Johnny Gray is adamant that he is retiring from NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit at the end of this season.

Well, 2013 has turned out be quite the farewell tour so far for the nitro Funny Car driver.

Gray won his fourth race of the season, beating Ron Capps Sunday in the final round of the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.

“This is my last year as a full time driver,” Gray said. “I never said I’m not going to drive anything anymore, but I just don’t want to chase the points anymore. That’s the way it is.”

Gray just edged Capps, his Don Schumacher Racing teammate. Gray clocked a 4.103-second elapsed time at 314.02 mph. Capps had an identical elapsed time at 314.09 mph. The difference was Gray’s .061 reaction time compared to Capps’ .067 reaction time.

“The guy (Rob Wendland, Gray’s crew chief) just does an awesome job,” said Gray, who has won all four of the final rounds he has been in this season. “He gives me a race car that is really hard to screw up with. Of course I didn’t have a clue where Ron was. I rolled in a little bit and stuck it in a little deeper and I know Ron did the same thing because both of our 60-foots were almost identical. Everybody said it was just back and forth down the race track. I got to the other end and I asked because they will not let me have a radio because I talk too much. I asked what happened to him and he said he got beat. It was close and it was just a good drag race.”

The win was especially sweet for Gray and his team as his car went through some major changes last Monday.

“We struggled for about three races pretty good with the car,” Gray said. “The guys loaded up Sunday night (June 30 at Chicago) and the discussion was there had there has to be something stupid going on with the car. We called the chassis shop and they threw everything out of the way and got on board. The guys went to the shop Sunday and stripped the car down Sunday night and early Monday morning had in it the chassis shop about 7:30 (a.m.). The chassis shop cut the front end off the car and put a whole new front end on and handed it back to them Monday afternoon. It was pretty fast. The guys bolted the car back together and we came here (Norwalk) and we never missed a step.”

Gray had a sense of humor when asked if he knew which one of his cars – the good car or bad car - was going to show up on race day.

“I have been through menopause, you improvise,” Gray said. “That’s Rob’s job to settle the car down. You just can’t say enough for what my crew does for me. They give me a good race car. It’s safe. You get in and do the best you can and if it is your day, it is your day.”

Gray is second in the point standings, 101 points behind DSR teammate Matt Hagan.

“We were getting a little frustrated because we threw everything but the kitchen sink at the car,” Gray said about his team’s recent struggles before Norwalk. “I sit up there with Rob a lot. I used to tune my own cars and I know how frustrating it can be. Everybody in the world was looking at it trying to figure out what was wrong. The thing just wouldn’t respond. There were some little things eating on it. The new chassis, new wiring, new set-up and the thing is going right down the race track and responding to everything he is asking it to do.”

SMITH BREAKS 34-RACE DROUGHT IN PRO STOCK BIKE CLASS -  NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Matt Smith said Sunday he had "been stuck on 13 for about two years, on the Wally deal."
 
It wasn't that it was an "unlucky 13." If it had been, say, 142, Smith would have wanted another one -- especially after waiting for 34 races and more than two years, since June 5, 2011, at Englishtown, N.J.
 
"I've gotten close a couple times since then," Smith said. "It's so hard to lose that final. No -- I take that back . . . It's so easy to lose that final round, because you over-think or you go up there like I did last week [at Route 66 Raceway at Joliet, Ill.], and I squeezed the clutch too hard and Michael [Ray] just treed me real bad."
 
And then came the real motivation to win the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio, against Ray's Sovereign-Star Racing teammate, Scotty Pollacheck.
 
Ray needled him last week: "Man, if that's the best you can do, you need to retire."
 
Smith snapped back, "Well, I'm going to show you what I can do at the next race."
 
He showed everybody what he can do, duly noting "And I was good on the tree all weekend, qualifying and everything."
 
Smith used a significantly quicker reaction time to lead from start to finish on the quarter-mile course in 6.954 seconds at 192.44 mph, topping Pollacheck's 7.008, 191.16.
 
With that, Smith improved from fifth to third in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series standings, pulling within 34 points of No. 2 Ray and 82 off Hector Arana Jr.'s pace.
 
"It's really special," Smith said of his Sunday performance. "A couple of No. 1 qualifiers, three finals in a row for our team, so man, this Viper Motorsports Buell is pretty awesome. All in all, we've had a good three-race swing. Hope we have two more good races the next swing, out West. I'm going to try to get Angie a win."
 
His wife, Angie Smith, is seeking her first victory. Teammate John Hall won at Epping. And Dawn Minturn-Mack joined the team for the Norwalk event.
 
As for the bantering between him and Ray, Matt Smith said, "It's a little bit of a rivalry, but we're good friends. We talk all the time. All the time we're pickin'. We play golf together." He said they went to the nearby Kalahari Resort with its indoor water park this weekend.

EDWARDS CAPTURES ELUSIVE NORWALK WIN - When it mattered most at the NHRA Mello Yello Series race at Norwalk, Ohio, Pro Stock driver Mike Edwards was at his best.
Edwards beat Allen Johnson in the final round Sunday to capture his inaugural victory at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

"This was outstanding," Edwards said. "We just had a great day. This place has had my number. I have come here several years when we had the K&N Horsepower Challenge here. I just could never get a handle on this place. Man, it feels good to come here and win a race at Norwalk.”

Edwards clocked a 6.61-second elapsed time at 209.56 mph to easily defeat Johnson, who shook the tires right off the starting line in his Dodge.

"Just hats off to all of my guys," Edwards said. "We were fortunate there a couple of rounds but we will take them any way we can. We made a really nice run in the finals. I was really proud of that. I just hope we can keep the wheels on this thing and keep the momentum going. I just want to thank everybody who is associated with this team. I guess we will just go to the West Coast now and see what we can do out there."

Edwards now has four wins this season. He leads the points with a 1,216 total. Johnson, the reigning champion, is second at 1,062. Edwards returns to action July 19-21 at the Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo.

"We really didn't have time to change anything," said Edwards when asked if he did anything different at Norwalk. "I actually drove the truck over here from Chicago and let my (truck driver) go home for a couple of days. We didn't run the engine we ran at Chicago, but we did not change a whole lot. We were the fastest car for three sessions except for the one that counted there Friday night. We felt like we might have given one away there, but any time you can walk away with Wally on Sunday, I will take that anytime."

Edwards, who qualified second, beat Mark Hogan, Rickie Jones and Vincent Nobile before defeating Johnson in the finals.

"Lane choice was huge for me here," Edwards said. "We just felt like we had a car that could really go down the right lane. When we got lane choice there for the final I was pretty happy, to say the least."

Although Edwards is having a stellar season, he knows winning at the Mile-High Nationals will not be easy because of the challenges the high altitude presents for crew chiefs and drivers.

"It is fun to go there and race because you have to change everything,” Edwards said. "Our work is cut out for us."

Johnson also has won three of the last four titles at Bandimere.

"Those guys run really good up there, that Mopar bunch," Edwards said. "I'm looking forward to it. It is a challenge. Hopefully we can run good and we will see what happens."

Several teams are scheduled to test this week at Bandimere, but Edwards will not be there.

"We are going to go home (to Oklahoma) and take the engines back and take some time off and work on some motors," Edwards said.
 

 

 

 

 

SATURDAY

TOP FUEL

Click Play [Below} to watch Doug Kalitta's press conference

  TRACK TURNS TRICKY, AS A HOPEFUL KALITTA STILL RULES TOP FUEL - It was a tale of two different days for Top Fuel's Doug Kalitta as qualifying continued Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.
 
He came into the final two sessions of time trials with both ends of the track record at 3.767 seconds and 327.74 mph in his Mac Tools Dragster.
 
And with that, he hung onto the top spot for the fifth time this season, moving him into fifth place on the all-time list of the NHRA Top Fuel class' No. 1 qualifiers with 36 low E.T.s.
 
Kalitta made a decent enough pass -- at 3.880, 312.42 -- early Saturday. But by halftrack on his last attempt he was battling tire smoke and clocked only a 5.423, 127.05.
 
"It seemed pretty tough out there, getting down it today," he said of the 1,000-foot Summit Motorsports Park strip.
 
"It looked like Robert [Hight] got down it pretty good with his Funny Car -- and Shawn [Langdon, in the Al-Anabi Dragster]. For whatever reason, our car, we kind of struggled today with it. Hopefully all that's behind us."
 
Langdon ran the quickest time of the final session, a 3.813-second pass at 322.88 mph. but will start from the No. 5 slot and meet JR Todd In the first round.
 
Still the veteran dragster driver from Ann Arbor, Mich., has been the only one all weekend to drop into the 3.76-second range.
 
"It's great to be No. 1 again. We've been able to do that a few times this year in the Mac Tools Dragster," he said.
 
Kalitta's Round 1 opponent will be Troy Buff, the No. 16 qualifier in the Bill Miller entry by .038 of a second ahead of Brittany Force.
 
And he will be no pushover, despite his 16th-place start. Buff got no qualifying bonus points, but he was fourth-quickest of the last session with a 4.059-second pass, while Kalitta was only 12th best in his final chance.
 
"We tried de-tuning it there for that last session," Kalitta said, "and I think we had a little bit more that we needed to do.  I've got a ton of confidence in Jim and Troy [crew chief Oberhofer and assistant Fasching], and they'll know what to do to get this thing down there. I'm sure tomorrow in the morning at 11 o'clock it'll probably be a little better. So it'll be an interesting day tomorrow."
 
He said he didn’t feel he would be operating with "a No. 1 qualifier jinx" or any such silliness: "No. It's a good place to start from. It'll be a level playing field again tomorrow. We'll just take it round by round and see if we can keep going here.
 
"We love running here at Norwalk," Kalitta said. "The Bader family, as always, they do a great job with this facility and the fans and everything else. Just happy to be out here. My Mac Tools car and all the guys there, they're doing a great job with this thing. Obviously happy to get that No. 1 qualifier and hoping to turn it into a win over whatever we can pull out of here tomorrow with. We're really looking forward to it tomorrow.
 
"Norwalk is my home track, and Mac Tools is based in Columbus, Ohio, so it would be really special to pick up our first event win of the season tomorrow here," he said.
 
Kalitta has earned 43 qualifying bonus points, including a Top-Fuel-best six points this weekend.
 

HERE'S THE SCOOP - Spencer Massey has the scoop at Norwalk this weekend. Literally, he does. The Baders presented Massey with a personalized billet aluminum ice cream scoop Saturday as a special reminder of his 2012 NHRA victory at their "home," Summit Motorsports Park. The Baders, the track owners, are known for their $1-per-pound ice cream promotion. "Bill Bader Jr. came by and presented a personalized trophy from our win here last year," Massey said. "It came in a wooden case. It's cool that it combines racing and what they're famous for. It's very cool and very special. The Bader family goes above and beyond to make us all feel welcome and special, and this is just another thing that they do. We'd love to get another win this year and scoop some ice cream out in the winners circle on Sunday."MESSY FOR MASSEY: DRIVER HITS BIRD DURING QUALIFYING - Was it a murder of crows? Was it a murder of one crow? Was it even a crow?
 
About 450 feet into his first Top Fuel qualifying pass Friday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Spencer Massey had an unfortunate encounter with a black bird that swooped in front of his Battery Extender Dragster.

Massey smoked the tires and shut off his engine early for a 4.400-second elapsed time at 182.08 mph. It made no difference that the speed was considerably slower than Massey's second pass of 324.67 mph. Evidently the bird didn't dodge the dragster quickly enough.
 
From underneath his cockpit canopy in the Don Schumacher Racing entry as he traveled the 1,000-foot Summit Motorsports Park course, Massey thought it was just a close encounter.
 
"I was just lifting off the throttle and I see a bird come out from right there next to the wall. And he came right up in front of the race car, and I watched him go right between the front tires and went right around past the roll cage. With me, it was no big deal, because I was like, 'Wow - that bird, we almost got that bird.'"
 
He soon found out it was a messy proposition for the bird.
 
"Make the turnoff," he said, "and NHRA's saying, hey, they had the sweepers out there
 and had to clean feathers off the racetrack." Later he said he and crew chief Phil Shuler and the team "saw a spot on the tire where it looks like he might have hit there."
 
Massey didn't say anything immediately about whether the cockpit prevented the bird from injuring him or if the canopy played any role at all in the incident.
 
After that run, a fan came to Massey while he was signing autographs and told him what he saw from his vantage point near the fence from where the birds allegedly took flight.
 
According to Massey, the fan told him "there were two birds sitting on the edge of the wall. And he said, 'Man, that's not a good spot for those two birds' as me and Antron [Brown, in the Matco Tools Dragster] were staging the race cars.  As soon as we hit the gas, he said, the birds -- one flew away toward the grandstands and the other bird decided to take a wrong turn. He flew toward the racetrack. And here we come and there he goes.
 
"The guy said he wasn't sure what the bird was thinking," Massey said. "But obviously we're out here in his playground. This is his home. He's wondering what we're doing here."
 
Massey said it was his first encounter with a bird while in his race car.
 
"It's the first time I've hit anything on the racetrack," he said. "You usually don't hit any objects when you're going down the track. I mean, that's the goal: stay off the wall and stay off the center line, not hit any [timing] cones and hopefully there's not anything else flying around out there to come in contact with."
 
Massey said he felt bad about the bird's fate and said, "I'm not sure if it was me or him or the racetrack or the tire" that was responsible for the decrease in the bird population near Norwalk, Ohio. 
 
"But obviously we don't like killing anything," Massey said. "We don’t like to hit anything on the racetrack, much less an animal or a bird or something. It's just one of those things. You never know what's going to happen out here at the racetrack."
  
Massey said he couldn't identify what type of bird it was.
 
"I have no idea," he said. "I know it was a black one. I don't have a clue what type of bird it was. I just saw the black bird flyin' down, and he was gone. I don't know what kind of a bird it was. I just know what color it was."
 
By way of irony, while the bird was not specifically identified as a crow, a group of crows is referred to as a "murder of crows." (The Australian heavy-metal band "A Murder of Crows" was not playing in the area at the time. And CompetitojnPlus.com has no evidence at this time that Massey tweeted about the on-track collision.)

LITTLE MOVEMENT IN Q3 - The top 11 racers, times, and speeds remained untouched Saturday after the first session (third overall). But No. 12 JR Todd, subbing once again for the ailing Brandon Bernstein, scrambled the bottom part of the order a bit by improving eight places with a 3.842-second E.T. at 318.39 mph. Of course, that helped push Morgan Lucas, his boss this weekend, down two places. Todd's first test Sunday will be Shawn Langdon.

MUCH BETTER - Larry Dixon had a much smoother time of it early Saturday afternoon than he did Friday night. In the second session Friday, an oil filter problem caused the engine in his Rapisarda Autosport International Dragster to detonate. He was in 17th place among the 20 drivers overnight, as his Santo Rapisarda Jr. and Santino Rapisarda-led crew stayed at the track, making repairs, until about 1 a.m. Saturday. They returned to the scene of the grime at about 8 a.m. Whatever they did worked, as Dixon climbed to 13th in the order (with a 3.871-second, 320.58-mph effort) and into the show with a final qualifying pass to go. He'll start 13th -- in the bottom half of the ladder for the seventh time in eight races this year -- and race longtime buddy Bob Vandergriff.

RIGHT ON THE NUMBERS - Al-Anabi Racing tuner Jason McCulloch knows how to make a Top Fuel dragster run consistently. And Saturday afternoon's qualifying show proved that. His driver, Khalid alBalooshi, took to the track in the third overall session and ran a 3.820-second E.T. and a 321.50-mph speed -- exactly to the number what he ran Friday night. While that didn't lift him from 10th place, alBalooshi's time was quickest of Q3 until Clay Millican came along in the next pairing and covered the 1,000-foot course in 3.789 seconds at a clip of 327.27 mph, which was second-fastest of the weekend. AlBalooshi will go against Antron Brown in the first round Sunday.EIGHT-NINE MIGHTY FINE? - Kalitta Motorsports driver David Grubnic, who was troubled by tire smoke in both Saturday runs, will know how much the track can hold when he meets first-round foe Spencer Massey in Sunday's eliminations. Said Massey, "It's going to be a good first-round match-up. The eight-nine pairing is always good for a good, close drag race, and that's probably what we'll see tomorrow. We'll race our lane and the conditions, and I'll do my job as a driver and see how it plays out."

FOUR CRYING OUT LOUD - Brittany Force, Leah Pruett, Scott Palmer, and Pat Dakin were the four in danger of missing the show Sunday after the third session. Dakin elected to sit out Q3. They all missed the cut.

'The last run we almost made it down there," Force said. "It got out of the groove a little bit and took a hard left turn. I saw that center line come up really quick and I lifted. That was my reaction, and that's something we can all learn from. I think down the road, if I had some more experience, I could have made a different call, maybe driven it back, but I'm still learning and everything is still new to me and my team. We're bummed we didn't make the show, but we won't let this get us down. We'll use this to get us pumped up for the Western Swing."

 

 

 

 

FUNNY CAR

Click Play [Below} to watch John Force's press conference

FORCE ADDS TO NORWALK LEGEND WITH NO. 1 - John Force is a drag racing legend.

The 15-time NHRA nitro Funny Car world champion added another line to his overflowing resume Saturday when he earned the pole position at NHRA's national event at Norwalk, Ohio.

Force is sitting in the No. 1 spot thanks to his track-record run of 4.021-seconds Friday night. "We proved we could run good and it was cooled down and we thought we could run better (Saturday) in the heat," Force said. "(Sunday) could be anybody's race and that's great for the fans."

This was Force's third pole position the season and 143rd of his career. Force faces Blake Alexander in the first round Sunday.

"Blake is a great kid and they have a good bunch of guys over there," Force said. "We are going to go up there with ours and do everything we can to go A to B."

Force admitted he was trying to see if his Ford could take Saturday's heat. "We wanted to see how far we could push it (Saturday)," Force said. "We know where to pull her back first round and we will, but we have a race here to win and that is kind of what it is all about."

Competing at Norwalk may be a new experience for some drivers, but not Force, which he uses to his advantage.

"I learned this track from 18 years of match racing," Force said.

Force also was quick to credit Norwalk track operator Bill Bader, who was in the media room, for helping make Norwalk a special place for him.

"I think it gets personal," Force said. "It is kind of home. You call your home track California, but I only race there twice a year. I race here (Norwalk) twice a year and I have raced here for 19 years. You get to know the people and they become family. I love racing here."

RACING WITH A PURPOSE - Jack Beckman has more on his mind this weekend than winning his first NHRA Mello Yello title of the season.

That remains the priority for the driver of Don Schumacher Racing's Valvoline MaxLife/MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors reigning world championship Funny Car team, but what also resonates with Beckman this weekend is reflected by a decal on the side windows of his Dodge Charger R/T.

Ironically, the decals are located next to the opening where NHRA Safety Safari rescue workers would insert a hose to extinguish a fire.

The decal reads: "In memory of Kevin Woyjeck and all 19 firefighters. 6/30/13"

The decal honors the 19 "hotshot" firefighters who died in the wildfire near Prescott, Ariz., on June 30. One of those fallen heroes was 21-year-old Californian Kevin Woyjeck, whose father, Joe Woyjeck, is a Southern California fire captain and vice president of the L.A. County Fire Museum.

Kevin, a member of the Prescott Fire Department's Granite County Hotshots, was joined by his father and other family members as guests of Valvoline and Beckman at the 2011 NHRA Finals at Pomona, Calif.

"We know racing is insignificant in the scope of what the Woyjeck family and their friends are going through," Beckman said. "I can't imagine the grief that his family is feeling right now by losing such a young man in the line of duty.

"Knowing that they are drag racing fans, this is an outlet where we can pay tribute to this fallen hero in an environment where he liked to spend time. Maybe it will remind the family of even more pleasant memories of their time with him."

Beckman's link became even stronger with the Woyjeck family after he received a text before Saturday's first qualifying session for the Summit Racing Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park at Norwalk, Ohio. The text was from Tim Takeshita, one of Beckman's longtime friends from when Beckman was an instructor at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School in Southern California.

"That made my connection with the Woyjecks even deeper," Beckman said.

"Tim and his family were neighbors of the Woyjeck family, and Tim's kids went to school with Kevin and they rode the same school bus. Tim said he still remembers Kevin as a little kid waving from the bus," Beckman said before pausing to regain his composure.

"This is heavy, and so sad. But we'll do what we do and race Sunday, and the more rounds we go the more we can make everyone watching aware of Kevin. Getting to the winners circle, well, it couldn't mean more to us."

 CONSISTENCY IS KEY - Matt Hagan's consistent race car from the last NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series event near Chicago made its way to Norwalk, Ohio, for the Summit Racing Nationals.

Hagan's Funny Car tuned by Dickie Venables produced three out of four qualifying runs ranging from 4.071 to 4.151 seconds in various track and weather conditions at the track in Northern Ohio.

In the final session Saturday when air and track conditions were the least desirable, Hagan was able to make it down the track while many nitro-powered machines didn't. The Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T qualified sixth for Sunday's 16-car eliminations.

Hagan has started from the No. 6 spot for two of out his three event titles this season.

UPS AND DOWN - Bob Tasca III will face Robert Hight in Round 1 of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals after qualifying 15th with a 7.465-second pass at 81.64 mph in two hot and humid days of qualifying that often put NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car teams to the test.

Tasca clocked a 4.204-second lap at 300.33 in Friday’s first session, but suffered a mechanical failure on the second qualifying attempt and aborted the run. Since only the top 12 times carry over into day two, Tasca started Saturday with a clean slate. Unfortunately, bugs plagued the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team on both attempts.

“This hasn’t been our weekend so far, but momentum shifts so fast in this sport,” Tasca said. “We’ll keep tracking down our gremlins tonight and be ready to race tomorrow.”

GONNA BE TRICKY ON SUNDAY - Ron Capps qualified third during Friday's final session with a time of 4.040 seconds at 316.82, the air and track heated up Saturday and that's what he expects will be the case on Sunday.

"We had tricky conditions Saturday when the sun came out and then there was cloud cover with a lot of humidity," Capps said. "These are quick-changing track conditions that make it tough on Rahn Tobler and the other crew chiefs.

"Sunday should be a lot of fun," Capps said.

READY FOR SUNDAY - Courtney Force made two good passes down the track in today’s qualifying, preparing her for race day while setting the stage with performances in conditions expected for Sunday.

“We made a lot of changes since yesterday’s qualifying passes, which I think are good changes. We’re trying to get our car to be more consistent like it was last season, and it showed a lot of promise today in the heat of the day. Our Traxxas Ford is coming around and it’s doing what we are telling it to do and that’s what we want,” said Force.

LOCAL FARES WELL - Chad Head, a local favorite from nearby Columbus, earned the second-best qualifying effort of his rookie season with a 4.065-second run in his family-owned Toyota. He will lead five Toyota Camrys into action in Sunday’s eliminations.

 

GOOD WEEKEND FOR HIGHT SO FAR - Robert Hight, who had one of the most dominant cars all weekend, recorded one of the three quickest runs in three of the four qualifying sessions, including a blistering 4.09-second run in the heat of the day in the final qualifying session.

“Today’s runs were all about getting ready for tomorrow,” Hight said. “This Auto Club Ford Mustang has been coming around the last couple of races. I am not over confident by any stretch but I am excited to be racing tomorrow. Running that 4.09 was just what we wanted to do. (Crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) was looking at the data and we think there was a little more out there. (Bob) Tasca (III) will be tough and we are battling to stay in the top ten.”

The first round match-up between Ford Mustangs will be an epic tilt as Hight is fighting to hold onto his spot in the top ten where he has a seventeen-point lead. He came into Norwalk with an even slimmer three-point lead, but thanks to his strong qualifying effort he was able to pad that lead going into Sunday’s eliminations.

“We got a lot of bonus qualifying points and almost earned a round just in qualifying. We need to string some more qualifying weekends like this together. We earned eight qualifying bonus points and then earned seven for being the No. 2 qualifier. You string a couple weekends like that together and we will be in good shape,” said Hight, a finalist at the Topeka national event earlier this season.

PRO STOCK

Click Play [Below} to watch Allen Johnson's press conference

JOHNSON BENEFITS FROM MOTHER NATURE’S ADMIRATION - Mother Nature did Allen Johnson a favor Saturday.

The hot, humid conditions at NHRA's national event at Norwalk, Ohio, didn't give any of the Pro Stock competitors much of a chance to knock Johnson off the qualifying throne.

At the end of the end of the day, Johnson's 6.592-second elapsed time Friday night gave the reigning Pro Stock world champion his first pole position of 2013.

"The conditions changed for (Saturday)," Johnson said. "The track was a little hotter, a little grimier, and a little harder to get ahold of. The humidity really came up and made the Pro Stock motors a little harder to tune. We made one good run (Saturday) and one bad run. I think Sunday you will see pretty close to the same conditions and I think we have a pretty good set-up for it."

Johnson also won the pole position at Norwalk a year ago.

Yet, he wasn't making any predictions for Sunday because of the weather. "The last I looked at it, it was supposed to be more of the same, maybe even warmer, so it could get a little tricky."

Johnson admitted Mother Nature will have the final say on his tune-up Sunday.

"It is just according what the conditions do," he said. "If the track temperatures are cooler you of course can get after it a little more. If not, put a bigger tire on it, a little less gear and go for it."

Although Mike Edwards raced out to a big points lead this season, Johnson is happy about the way he has been able to keep chipping away at Edwards.

"I think we have closed the gap performance-wise or even overcome him the last couple of races," Johnson said. "Now it is getting after it time. We have to go these next three or four races and get in his pocket for points and hopefully secure that No. 1 position going into the Countdown."

The six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs begin Sept. 13-15 in Charlotte, N.C.

 

 CAN HE MAKE IT TWO? – Jeggie Coughlin, who also qualified No. 3 when he won last weekend at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., will face Steve Spiess in the first round Sunday. Coughlin's best pass was 6.614 seconds at 208.91 mph, posted in the second round Friday night. Spiess qualified No. 14 with a top lap of 6.788 seconds at 205.88 mph.

"We have made some good runs here," Coughlin said. "That left lane looks like trouble, and it's typically the preferred lane, and we struggled with the car going left both runs down it. But today’s run in Q3 was a touch better than Q1."

Coughlin shook the tires as the car slipped sideways in the first round of qualifying Friday, but he made solid passes the rest of the weekend. In Q3, Coughlin made a run of 6.633-seconds at 208.91 mph that was fourth-quickest of the session, and then he was No. 3 in Q4 with a pass of 6.658 at 208.17 mph. Neither run was perfect, so to be that fast was encouraging.

"I made a decent poke this morning," Coughlin said. "I was fourth for the session, and that was encouraging given the amount of driving we did. The right lane in Q4 felt like it was on a pretty decent run. About the time I stuffed it in fifth gear it felt like we had a real strong crosswind, and that doesn’t happen very often.

WORKING ON A COMPLETE PACKAGE - Rodger Brogdon ran a best lap of 6.653 seconds at 208.91 mph to qualify 10th on Saturday at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. He said the early part of runs is giving the teams fits.

"That is a new engine we are running and it is running good on the back (end); we are fourth or fifth (quickest)," Brogdon said. "But we can't figure it out until the 330-foot mark. From 330 to 660, we are way up on the page."

In the first round of eliminations Brogdon will go up against Rickie Jones, who qualified seventh with a best pass of 6.632 seconds at 209.20 mph.

THE DEFENDING CHAMPION - Last year’s Pro Stock title winner at Norwalk, Vincent Nobile, qualified his HEMI-powered Dodge in sixth spot with a 6.629-second pass (208.75 mph) and will face Steve Kent in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Click Play [Below} and watch Michael Ray's press conference

RAYS SITS OUT FINAL CHANCE, STILL EARNS NO. 1 PSM SPOT -  You can't beat flawless.
 
That's what Sovereign-Star Racing owner-tuner George Bryce decided midday Saturday during qualifying at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.
 
So they opted to bypass the final qualifying session and work on their Sunday set-up, which actually didn't require too much fussing.
 
Every racer likes to make a pass every time he or she gets a chance. So that can call for some exercise of willpower, but Ray and his team have done it before -- just two races ago, when they led the field at Epping, N.H.
 
The gamble paid off again as Ray took his second No. 1 qualifying position in three events with a 6.912-second pass in the quarter-mile at a Summit Motorsports Park-record 194.77-mph speed that erased Andrew Hines' three-year-old mark of 194.49.
 
"We came back [after the first session Saturday] and looked at the data and saw that the bike, as far as the tune-up,  was just flawless," Ray said. "George actually complimented me and said that I did a really good job driving.
 
"He said, 'Hey, man, we have a pretty good goal of winning a championship, and they're not going to give them away this afternoon. So if you feel confident and if you feel comfortable, we're going to park it for the day.' We're actually in the middle of getting it ready for the first round Sunday morning," Ray said.
 
"It worked out good for us in Epping.  We qualified on the pole," he said.
 
"We're really, really clicking right now," Ray said. "All the parts and pieces from the shop are really staying together, and we're not having any dumb parts failures.
 
"So to keep seeing all the momentum moving forward, we just didn't want to take a chance on hurting a motor. We leave to go out West next week. Denver's really hard on parts, and then we go right into Sonoma. So we still have a lot of racing to do over the next few weeks, and we definitely don't want to be behind the eight-ball," he said. "Pretty good decision on our end, I guess."
 
Ray acknowledged that Saturday's first session was a bit of a shakedown run for Sunday's eliminations, which he'll begin against No. 16 qualifier Shawn Gann.
 
"I've always said that first round on Saturday is pretty close, conditions-wise, to what it's going to be first round of eliminations on Sunday," Ray said. "We went up there with a first-round-of-eliminations tune-up in it, and when I made the turnoff and they said I went a [6.]91, I was like, 'Man, really? Are you serious?'
 
"I knew it left really good," he said. "It peeled out and spun the tire pretty good in second [gear]. In a Pro Stock car, for example, if it's spinnin' in second and carryin' that momentum, it's probably going to be a pretty awesome pass."
 
That's why he wasn't champing at the bit to get back on the bike and try to post another crazy number. He had a number already that turned out to be nearly three-hundredths of a second quicker than his closest competitor, Hector Arana Jr.
 
"That was another reason while we could swallow the pill of sitting out last session so well, because we knew that after first round, that was exactly what we were going to do tune-up-wise and game-face-wise," Ray said. "That was our focus for tomorrow and made it pretty easy for us today."
 
Ray is second in the standings to Arana Jr. and is seeking his third victory of the year.

YOUNGEST ARANA GETS SPECIAL HELP - MAVTV Buell rider Adam Arana matched his career-best qualifying effort (fifth) and hopes to follow in his dad's footsteps (or tire tread) at Norwalk. This is where Hector Arana Sr. earned his first Wally trophy, in 2008. "I am ready for tomorrow," Arana said. "I got my first round-win against L.E. (Tonglet), so I hope to continue that. L.E. is a good rider and is very smart, so I can't slack. I need to be on my game. I just have to go up there and focus, cut a good light, and try to hit my shift points. It is all I can do. I can't focus on what they are going to do. I need to focus on my lane, because it's the only thing I can control." He gave a shout-out to Lucas Oil Pro Stock teammate Larry Morgan, an engine builder, who worked on the team's engines earlier this week in his shop at Newark, Ohio, near Columbus. "I want to thank Larry," Adam Arana said, "because he helps us out and he works overtime for us. We stopped at his place, and he did all three of our [cylinder] heads. Larry is the reason we are running the speeds that we are. He did awesome."

THIS GUY'S EXCITED - Michael Phillips had better look out Sunday morning. he'll be running up against a pumped-up Hector Arana Jr. Arana's best engine -- "Gracie," the one named for his mother -- is purring along at full strength. He said he "learned what not to do and what to do for Sunday" in the last session. And he called that last Saturday run "perfect." Said the points leader, who won the first three races but has watched Michael Ray win two and John Hall one in the past three bike events. "We are making good power and got the combination back," Arana Jr. said. "I have to thank Larry Morgan for that. He pulled some strings and got it done. My dad, (crew chief) Dan (Gonzalez), Vincent and John Nobile - I have to thank everyone." And, Michael Phillips, are you listening? -- Arana Jr. said of that last qualifying pass, "We were low of the round, 6.93 in the heat and in the worst conditions. We are ready to come out swinging. Watch out for tomorrow." 

 

 

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

TOP FUEL

Click Play [BELOW] to watch Doug Kalitta's Press Conference

KALITTA, 'THAT THING' PUT MAC TOOLS TOP FUEL TEAM ON TOP AGAIN - Doug Kalitta has a habit of referring to his Mac Tools Dragster as "that thing," as in "I'm so proud of Jim O. and Troy and all the Mac Tools guys. They've been making that thing run."
 
But if it weren't already with four No. 1 qualifying positions this season alone, "that thing" proved Friday at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio, it is THE thing when it comes to Top Fuel qualifying.
 
Driving "that thing" -- the Mac Tools Dragster -- to a 3.767-second elapsed time at 327.74 mph on the 1,000-foot course Kalitta rewrote both ends of the Summit Motorsports Park performance record.
 
With that he became the provisional No. 1 qualifier and shared the day's early leadership with John Force (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), and Michael Ray (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
 
Kalitta said, "The conditions were good. I'm just real happy that we were able to rip off a good run in qualifying here."
 
He indicated his team's consistency comes from trying to get that first victory since 2010 at Denver and years of trying to get the series championship.
 
'We're all really hungry to do good," he said.
 
Then, mentioning his uncle and team owner Connie Kalitta, he said, "Connie gives us everything we need to make our cars run good. So I’m just proud of all the team -- the two Funny Cars [of Alexis DeJoria and Del Worsham] and the two dragsters [including Dave Grubnic's, which landed the tentative No. 2 spot in the opening session].
 
"We're making great strides," he said. "And the people, the depth of what we've got going on, is starting to show. Jim [crew chief Oberhofer, along with assistant Troy Fasching], he's been tweakin' on this thing and he's been working hard. Hopefully we'll get things narrowed down to where we can start running a little more consistently. Proud of everybody on the Mac Tools car."
 
But as much as Kalitta praised his team from down the highway to the west at Ypsilanti, Mich., he also gave plenty of kudos to Bill Bader Sr. and Jr. and their staff at Summit Motorsports Park for packing in an impressive crowd and treating them to a fireworks show despite threatening weather.
 
"The Baders, they're pretty awesome," Kalitta said. "For a place that was supposed to rain, they still had the fan support. The place was packed, and what a fireworks display! It was a cap to a good night.
 
"Bader, the way he advertises and markets . . . He's been out here for 50 years. I was pretty surprised when I heard that today. I didn’t know it was a 50-year effort going on here. It shows. It's awesome. They definitely know how to put on a drag race."
 
And Doug Kalitta knows what to do when the Baders open their gates.    


WON'T RACE WITHOUT A CANOPY -Drag-racing fans are used to hearing Tony Schumacher preach the wisdom of having a cockpit canopy on a Top Fuel dragster.
 
But what came out of his post-race, post-victory-fireball sermon last Sunday at Route 66 Raceway were a couple of newsy nuggets.
 
The seven-time series champion and current points leader said he would leave the sport if the NHRA ever ordered the canopy to be removed from his U.S. Army Dragster. And he hinted that the next iteration of the Don Schumacher Racing-designed dragster will have F-1 styling.
 
As Tony Schumacher finished his winning run against Clay Millican at last Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts Nationals, his engine let go in a huge fireball, spraying shrapnel across the racetrack.
 
Afterward, he said, "It exploded hard" but said none of the debris bounced off his canopy. Still, he said he was thankful to have the protection and once again adamantly urged his colleagues to add one to their cars.
 
"I'd never drive one without it," Schumacher said. "If something happened and they [NHRA officials] said, 'We don't like this canopy,' I'm out of here.
 
"That canopy is a savior. People who don't have it on their car need to think about it, because it is a blessing to have it on there," he said. "When things are flying and parts are coming off, we're not smart enough to stop. We're not going to take our foot off [the throttle] if that win light's not on yet. We're staying in it. So surround yourself with the best equipment."
 
He said, "I've got to thank my dad and [U.S. Army Dragster crew chief] Mike Green and all the people who made that possible and fought for that thing to be running."
 
Schumacher said he still can't understand why only John Force Racing also has adopted the canopy that all three DSR dragsters use.
 
"I'm blown away by it," he said. "And I don’t know why. I hear, 'Oh, what if you're on fire with it?' 'What if --,' 'What if--' Well, I just proved -- and Antron [Brown] proved . . . It doesn't matter what you're thinking.
 
"You're always going to have accidents. We're always going to blow stuff up. But wouldn't you rather [have] some carbon-Kevlar ballistic glass surrounding you than being out in the open with parts flying around? I don't understand it," Schumacher said.

BACK AGAIN - After a temporary setback in his recovery from back surgery, Brandon Bernstein is going to sit out this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, which means J.R. Todd will be back in the ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Top Fuel dragster for this event.

"It's a bummer because we really want to get into the top 10 and make the Countdown to the Championship," Bernstein said. "In situations like this you have to err on the side of caution, but I do plan to race in Denver in two weeks."

Todd drove the ProtectTheHarvest.com entry at the first two events of this four-race swing, and while he doesn't like the circumstances that have given him the opportunity to drive, he's ready to do his best for his temporary teammates again.

"I wasn't planning on going to Norwalk this weekend," Todd said. "I was thinking about catching a sprint car race around Indy. It's worth blowing off your plans to drive a Top Fuel car.

"I'm glad to be back standing on the gas, but I just wish it was a better situation. The car has been running really well the last few races."

Todd is always happy to return to Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park because it's where he accomplished a major milestone as a driver.

"It's where I got my Top Fuel license," Todd said. "I drove Bruce Litton's car for that in 2000. I've run there a few times while competing at IHRA and NHRA races. I also used to run there with Jr. Dragsters quite a bit, so it's almost a home away from home for me."

ARMY TEAM MOMENTUM STILL ROLLING - Tony Schumacher hasn't returned to the final round at Norwalk since he won the inaugural NHRA race there in 2007 against Hot Rod Fuller. He did it then from the No. 14 spot. But after seizing his class-best third victory of the season and regaining the points lead for the third time at the most recent race, the U.S. Army Dragster driver sent the message that this year he mean business and he means it now. He took the provisional No. 2 position Friday night, improving 13 places in the order. "It's going to be an intense second half of the season," Schumacher said heading into this 13th of 24 races, just past the halfway point.

"It’s getting hotter, and the U.S. Army team proved in Chicago that they can get me down the track when conditions are like that," he said. "It was pretty impressive for us to run so well Sunday, considering we didn't make one run in hot conditions during qualifying that would have given us any data for what we had to deal with. That's a huge advantage, knowing that you have a group of guys around you who are smart enough to predict what it will take to get your car down the track every time."

DANGEROUS DUO - The dangerous duo of teammates Clay Millican and Bob Vandergriff barged toward the top of the pack again Friday. They're third and fourth, respectively, on the grid, with two more chances Saturday to try to topple Doug Kalitta and Tony Schumacher for their provisional Nos. 1 and 2 positions.

ALL WET - Tentative No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta was thinking he would be the one getting wet Friday, with a doom-and-gloom weather forecast for the Northern Ohio region. But it was his cheering section who got wet -- deliberately. He said his family wasn't on hand to see him reset both the elapsed time and speed records at Summit Motorsports Park. Wife Josie, son Mitchell, and daughter Avery were splashing around all day at the Kalahari Resort indoor water park at nearby Sandusky, Ohio.

GETTING BETTER - It was barely in the top half of the provisional order, but seventh place so far for Antron Brown marked a big improvement. The Matco Tools Driver had been on a string of less-than-outstanding starts -- 11th, 12th, 10th, and 11th in the most recent four races. But he is starting to get back to his early-season form -- when he won two races and qualified first once and no worse than fourth in the first seven races. He had a semifinal finish at Joliet, also an improvement from the four-race skid of first-round losses.

"Norwalk is a tremendous facility. We're still trying to get our first win there. The biggest thing for our team is that Norwalk is like a home track for one of my co-crew chiefs. Brian Corradi is from the area, and we always want to do well for him there," Brown said. "You saw how much it mattered last weekend in Chicago for Tony and Don to get that hometown win. We've been close at Norwalk, making it to the final once. We'll go there hoping to qualify well and get back into the top half of the ladder. That's what we are shooting for. And then, we'll just try to take it one round at a time Sunday and see if we can come out of there with a win."

Said Brown, "You can't take anything away from anyone in this class right now. It's definitely as tough as it's ever been. There were a lot of those first-round losses that we could've won a couple of years ago. That's just how steep our competition is right now, and it's going to be like that until the end of the year."

He said some mechanical gremlins have hurt his team a bit this season, glitches they were able to avoid last year in his championship season. "But that’s racing. We've been racing the racetrack and going out there running to the best of our ability. That wins rounds. It's a long road until we get to the Countdown, and that's where the championship charge starts. We really feel like we turned things around in Chicago last weekend."
 

FUNNY CAR

Click Play [BELOW] to watch John Force's Press Conference

JOHN FORCE ATOP QUALIFYING LADDER - Reports of John Force’s demise were definitely premature.

The legendary Force has been in stellar form lately.

In the last three races at Bristol, Tenn., Epping, N.H., and Chicago, Force has one win and two runner-up finishes.

The 15-time NHRA Funny Car world champion kept his hot streak going Friday at the national event at Norwalk, Ohio.

Force clocked a 4.021-second elapsed time at 317.72 mph to grab the provisional pole at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

“I was amazed at it because it was hotter than heck (Friday),” Force said. “We ran that (4.13) in the heat, but we kind of got a handle on it. We are OK, but we are not where we want to be to win a championship. There are just a bunch of good race cars out here. To get low for tonight, I’m just happy. We need some good weather and great races for the fans. I’m excited right now because I get to race with the big boys. They have been spanking me here for a few years. Even (Don) Schumacher started saying he was my friend, feeling sorry for me. I do not need to be felt sorry for at all. I will fix my hot rod one way or the other.”

Force, who won his last world title in 2010, was quick to credit his team for his success.

“Mike Neff (Force’s crew chief) and Jon Schaffer give me a good car with that team,” Force said. “We will see what happens. Low ET doesn’t win you a race - in fact it puts you on the edge. Let’s see if it will hold and then we will celebrate.”

Force acknowledged he has taken some pointers from Neff this season.

“Neff is good,” Force said. “We have been trying a lot of stuff. Neff being a driver, some of the mistakes I made as a driver, we have talked about. One of them (the things we talked about) was I living in that gym trying to be a gorilla. I still have these Budweiser abs. (Earlier in the year), He told me I was way oversteering the car. You are the one taking it out of the groove. I thought it ain’t smoking the tires. We started watching videos and he took me to class because he understood it as a driver. The kid has a lot of talent, not only tuning but driving. He really helped me calm down and quit steering it. My other car was a dump truck and this new car is like power steering. You have to finesse it like a dragster. We are a team. We win together and we lose together.”

NOT THE SAME DICKIE V -   When ESPN basketball commentator Dick Vitale was Grand Marshal of the 2009 Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade, the parade route was plastered with signs that read, "We love you, Dickie V!"
 
NHRA Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan probably would love to get his hands on one of those posters right about now. But he would be waving it frantically in support of That Other Dickie V, his crew chief, Dickie Venables.
 
They really weren't acquainted until about two weeks before the season began in February. But with the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule creeping past the halfway point as the action shifts to Norwalk, Ohio, it's as if they've been friends for so many years that they could finish each other's sentences.
 
"It's been phenomenal," Hagan said of the entire team's bonding process, as well as his own crescendo of trust. "To come in here and have a crew chief that puts a race car underneath you and gives you the ability to go out here and do your job and just know that when you're strapped in the race car that you have the opportunity to win any race you go to, it's just phenomenal.
 
"We're only halfway through the year. I'm really hoping that our consistency that we've had all year long continues for the rest of the season," he said. "I think Dickie has been hands down the most consistent crew chief out here, and the points show it."
 
Hagan has the proof: three victories in five finals, a pair of No. 1 qualifiers, a 22-9 elimination-round record, and a 106-point lead over No. 2 Cruz Pedregon and a 142-margin ahead of quickly climbing John Force.
 
"The crew guys have come together, and they're just happy. Dickie has become such a leader for this team," Hagan said about the Mopar / Magneti Marelli / Rocky Footwear team that competes out of the Brownsburg, Ind.-headquartered Don Schumacher Racing organization.
 
And then the multi-sport athlete from Christiansburg, Va., shifted gears to make his point.
 
"You can compare it to football. Dickie is the coach. I'm the quarterback. And these guys [crew members] are the linemen. As a team, we've all come together. We've gelled really well."
 
Following his victory last Sunday against final-round foe John Force at Joliet, Ill., Hagan said of his position and his team members, "Since I've been here with Don Schumacher Racing, I've had the opportunity to lose a championship, and I've also won one. I see the fire in these guys' eyes. They're hungry. That just fires me up to come to work every day, just to see what these guys got in store for us. So after being there in the song-and-dance before, I can see it in their eyes. I can feel it. They're digging deep, and they're working hard. That drives me to just go up there and not disappoint and make sure I'm doing my job on the starting line and bringing it home for Don Schumacher Racing and everybody -- Mopar, Magneti Marelli, Rocky Boots -- that are supporting us out here.  We plan on doing big things here in the future."
 
He already has done big things, considering that when Venables returned Feb. 1 to DSR (having helped Rob Wendland with Johnny Gray's car a few years ago) Hagan was just getting adjusted after the shuffle of Tommy DeLago leaving, then getting fired up about Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara being his crew chiefs, only to see them slide back to the Top Fuel side of things, then Okuhara into a management role.
 
Venables brought stability and a couple of Funny Car championship seasons of experience, along with his earnest, no-nonsense, low-key approach to business.
 
Hagan constantly talks about "keeping my mouth shut and my ears pinned back" and remaining humble -- even said as much last weekend.
 
And when he was hired, Venables was all work-minded. He knew what the boss expected of him, saying, "Team owners in our sport don't have multi-car operations because it's cool. The more data you have leads to how much better your cars run."
 
So Hagan and Venables were like peanut butter and jelly, a natural fit, from the start.

BECKMAN HONORS FIREFIGHTER – Jack Beckman took to the track today with a sticker adorning his car paying tribute to Kevin Woyjeck and all 19 firefighters lost in Arizona. Kevin is the son of Fire Captain Joe Woyjeck, VP of the LA County Fire Museum where sponsor Valvoline is involved. zWoyjeck usually joined the team each year in Pomona. A FUNNY CAR TRADITION - John Force could only smile as the cover was rolled back from his Castrol GTX Funny Car. This has become a tradition Force has grown to love.

Force, as he has done every year since the NHRA first came to Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, unveiled the design of the Funny Car body he’ll run at the Night Under Fire August 10. This year Force will showcase the Bader Family’s 50 years of promoting the track located in Norwalk, Ohio.

The Night Under Fire has grown into the sport’s largest independent event since it began 18 years ago. It features an eight-car field of Funny Car match races along with other specialty exhibition acts.

When it comes to this event, the 15-time champion Force is clearly the headliner, having participated in every Night Under Fire. Having the headliner convey the event’s theme is very important.

“We got a great response from the crowd,” Force said proudly of this year’s car.
The way the program works is the Baders deliver a design to Force, and once he ensures all of the sponsor requirements are met, the JFR graphics team makes the concept a reality.

“We have done a lot of cars over the years which just didn’t look all that good,” Force admitted. “We did a Frankenstein car and I argued the whole time that it just didn’t look good. Then they told me it looked just like me.”

Force became fond of the design after the point was made. However, nothing will top the military-themed cars. The drag racing icon has a soft spot for anything military related largely because his older brother Louis is a Vietnam Veteran.

“Those are always my favorites,” Force said. “There have been so many over the years.”

Force said the only non-military theme which comes close was the one saluting Bader Family patriarch Bill Bader Sr.

“This family is not just a bunch of race track promoters,” said Force. “They’re like PT Barnum, and it doesn’t get any better than that. The shows they put on, the fans they pack in and the fireworks … they know how to give the fans the ultimate show.”

Because of their dedication, the Baders have been able to talk Force into rolling to the starting line in a coffin.

“I climbed out of the car and the theme was the nightmare continues,” Force said. “They’re always coming up with cool stuff.”

Force proudly proclaims he’s never turned down a request from the Baders, no matter how off it might seem at the time.

“Nope, I’m game for just about anything,” said Force with a smile.

GRAY REBOUNDS – Leading into this weekend’s event, Johnny Gray’s team stopped by the Indianapolis-based Don Schumacher Racing chassis shop and performed a front-half replacement on their temperamental Pitch Energy Funny Car. The refinement worked as Gray thundered to a 4.062, 312.64.

DEJORIA DELIVERS – Alexis DeJoria saved her best for last on Friday as he evening run of 4.124, 281.07. She rounded out the provisional top 12.

SOLID DAY FOR WILK - Tim Wilkerson made two solid laps on the first day of qualifying at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, posting a 4.147 in Q1 followed by a strong 4.082 in the nightcap. With the first day of qualifying now in the books, Wilk sits in the No. 7 spot with two more sessions set for Saturday.

"That's kind of what we were hoping to do, more in terms of making two nice laps to get a little bit of that consistency back," Wilk said. "We were on a nice string of solid laps there for a few races, and then we got a little hit-or-miss in Joliet, and the main thing I was looking for here was just to get it down there with the flames up in Q2. Last weekend, we messed up when everyone else was flying, so even though we didn't get any bonus points or set the world on fire tonight, I'm happy with just making two solid laps. We're right in the thick of it, and hopefully we'll go into Sunday in the top half."

LEADER OF THE PACK - Ron Capps and the NAPA Brakes/Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team lead the DSR pack after two sessions with a run of 4.040 seconds at 316.82 mph to earn the provisional No. 3 position. Capps with crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant John Collins were the No. 1 qualifying team last weekend at Joliet.
 

PRO STOCK

Click Play [BELOW] to watch Allen Johnson's Press Conference

JOHNSON CAPTURES PROVISIONAL PS POLE - No one was better than reigning Pro Stock world champion Allen Johnson Friday night.

Johnson clocked a 6.592-second elapsed time at 209.75 mph to capture the provisional pole at NHRA’s Mello Yello Series event at Norwalk, Ohio.

“After the sun went down of course the track just got awesome all of a sudden,” Johnson said. “The humidity comes up a little bit, but last year we ran really well here and the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger just loves this track. I have not had a No. 1 (qualifying spot) this year, but Jeggie (Coughlin) has had two and Mike (Edwards) has had about 28. My car and Jeggie’s car are really close in setup. Usually the first one out is at a little bit of a disadvantage because the one behind him maybe gets a little bit of a tweak that he didn’t have. I was last out tonight and that sure helped.” 

Johnson’s first qualifying lap was 6.605 seconds, which left him second on the qualifying ladder behind Mike Edwards. Edwards was second after Friday at 6.604 seconds and Coughlin was third at 6.614 seconds. Johnson qualified No. 1 at Norwalk in 2012 at 6.663 seconds.

Johnson is trying to chase down Edwards in the point standings. Edwards came to Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park 128 and 130 points in front of teammates Coughlin and Johnson.

“We are gaining on him (Edwards) a little and I think we made some big progress (Friday night),” Johnson said. “I think the last few races we pretty much matched him (Edwards) engine-wise and now we are figuring a little bit out on the car. It is going to be a knock-down, drag-out here for a while.”

Johnson, however, wasn’t making any predictions for Saturday.

“I do not know what the weather is supposed to be (Saturday),” Johnson said. “If I could control the weather I would win a lot more races.”

After winning his first Pro Stock title a year ago, Johnson knows there is no secret formula to regaining the top spot.

“It is going to take consistency just about at every track,” Johnson said. “That consistency leads to lane choice and lane choice leads to round wins. Of course you have to do your job as a driver and the car people have to do their job on the chassis and the engine guys have to do their job on the engine. Everything has to be perfect.”

HE IS SECOND, FOR NOW – Mike Edwards was the early leader in Pro Stock qualifying, but after a quick second session fell to second. Edwards ran a 6.601, 209.92.

IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW YOU START – And Jeggie Coughlin is grateful for this. Friday’s first run yielded an impressive wheelstand and an even more impressive driving job as the yellow Mopar headed for the centerline. He cured his ills for the second session and ended the day third quickest with a 6.614.

FIRST RUN IS THE CHARM, SECOND ISN’T - Jason Line earned his way into the field on the strength of his first run, a 6.645 at 208.52 mph which was good for seventh to start the day. He appeared to be on a course to improve when his engine failed in the second half of the run. "We just hurt a part, nothing major, but it's something that will require a little time to fix," said Line, whose official time in the second session was 8.518-seconds. "The good news is that the Summit Racing team is well prepared, and we have several engines with equal power, so we decided to change it tonight rather than fix it here.

"We will take care of the small issue when we get back to the KB Racing shop, but for now, we felt it was a better decision to start fresh tomorrow. Thankfully, it was nothing catastrophic, and Team Summit will have another couple of runs to make improvements before Sunday."

GOOD BITE - V. Gaines’ Dodge had teeth during Friday qualifying as he was fourth quickest with a 6.616.

ON THE EDGE – On a weekend when earning a spot in the provisional twelve didn’t really mean the difference between racing or spectating Sunday, Larry Morgan was twelfth with a 6.658, 208.87.

SWEET 15 – With the absence of Pro Stock racer Erica Enders-Stevens, for the second time in three events, the No. 1 qualifier will get a bye-run Sunday. After Friday’s qualifying, Steve Spiess sat in the No. 15 spot.


PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Click Play [BELOW] to watch Michael Ray's Press Conference

RAY GOING FOR ANOTHER NO. 1 PSM START - Michael Ray knows they're coming back.
 
But while the Harleys are away, the rest of the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle field will play. And right now few are having as much delight as Englishtown and Joliet winner Ray, who's in position to lead the field for the second time in three races.
 
He covered the Summit Motorsports Park quarter-mile in 6.926 seconds at 193.68 mph on his Sovereign-Star Racing Buell as qualifying opened Friday for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.
 
He did it despite two broken intake-valve springs to share the spotlight Friday with other early leaders Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), and Allen Johnson (Pro Stock).
 
He said he's taking advantage of the previously dominant Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson team's struggle to adapt to the new rules aimed at leveling the class' playing field.
 
"They definitely don't have anybody feeling bad for them in Pro Stock Motorcycle," Ray said. "It's reality now. It's the same class. It's the same rules. It's how it should be."
 
However, Ray said he isn't buying the conventional wisdom that the Vance & Hines organization is out of the championship running, even though reigning and three-time champ Eddie Krawiec is lagging in eight place in the standings and three-time champ Andrew Hines isn't even in Countdown consideration at this stage.
 
"They didn’t fall off that mountain they got up on with all those championships and all those Wallys," Ray said. "I personally feel they're in test mode right now. They've got a few more races before they really have to step on it to get into the Countdown. But they'll be back. They'll be back."
 
Just the same, he said, "Definitely everybody's enjoying it right now. The class has never been more competitive. It's nice to see the Harleys back down to reality. They're definitely not enjoying it. Nobody enjoys getting their butts kicked every week, but it’s a nice little bit of their own medicine back to 'em."
 
As for his own Sovereign-Star racing organization, Ray said morale under George Bryce's command has been rejuvenated.
 
"It's back to what made Star Racing so amazing in the late '90s and early 2000s," he said. "George Bryce is an awesome crew chief. Everybody back at the shop, the same employees who gave John Myers (1990, '92, '95) and Angelle (2000-020 their first championships are the same employees there today."
 
Ray said he and teammate Scotty Pollacheck, who joined Sovereign-Start racing last season, are "driving wheels out. You can sense a completely different morale in the pits."
 
And he was referring not only to his own team's pits but also to the rest of the non-Harley-Davidson contingent.
 
"We knew it was going to be only a matter of time before George Bryce and Star Racing and that whole camp was back on top," Ray said. "We didn’t really expect it to take off so fast this year, but we're definitely not upset with how much success we've had in the past few races."
 
He said, "We were really pleased to see that (6.)92 come up on the board. We felt he bike was going to go out there and be competitive and jump to the top." He said he was glad the mechanical errors "didn't bite us, that we were able to go right on around 'em."
 
He said the team had considered not making a second pass Friday, but once they discovered the broken valve springs, they changed their minds. He said Bryce decided to "fix it and make sure it's really peachy and lovin' life."
 
He can't swear to "peachy," exactly, saying that in the second session, "We definitely weren't on the top of the page. It was more of a 'Let's just be prepared for tomorrow's battle' versus 'Let's see what we can do for tonight.' It felt good on the first pass, and it felt good to go back out there."

 
'FULL OF FIRE, EMOTION': HOW RAY DESCRIBES POLLACHECK -  Scotty Pollacheck got a ringing endorsement from Sovereign-Star Racing teammate Michael Ray after Ray won last Sunday's race at Joliet, Ill.
 
It came on a day Pollacheck had to forgo an anticipated head-to-head clash with Ray because the oil line on his Buell came loose during the burnout. And it came on a day in which he was just coming to grips with the news the evening before that extremely close friend, employee, and fellow racer Billy Hammon had been killed in Southern Oregon when his motorcycle collided with a horse trailer.
 
Ray said his thoughts and prayers were with Pollacheck and the people associated with Quality Tire, Pollacheck's Medford, Ore., business. Then he predicted Pollacheck will win at Norwalk.
 
"I’d be scared to race that guy next weekend," he said of Pollacheck. "He's going to be full of fire and emotion. I really think next weekend will be his weekend to win."
 
Pollacheck opened the weekend at Summit Motorsports Park with a tentative top-half placement, at No. 7. With Steve Johnson leapfrogging him and six other riders in the second session, Pollacheck slipped to eighth overnight.

HALL - Epping winner John Hall came off the trailer and zipped to the No. 2 position with a 6.953-second, 192.96-mph pass. And for him that was a strategic move, for his Viper / Matt Smith Buell had some mechanical trouble that prevented him from making a run in the evening session Friday. Still, he's no worse than third in the provisional order.

ON THE RISE - Steve Johnson, seeking another top-qualifying spot to match the one he earned at Englishtown, found nearly three-hundredths more of a second from his Suzuki, replacing his first elapsed time of 6.968 seconds (at 192.96 mph) with a 6.941 (at 193.16) to jump up six rungs on the ladder.

HINES IN MIDDLE - Lurking back in the No. 6 spot with a day's-best effort of 6.963 seconds at a 192-flat-mph that matched that of No. 5 Angie Smith's is Andrew Hines. He still owns the track speed record of 194.49 that he set in June 2010. Moreover, he's the most successful racer at Norwalk in all four pro categories. He has won three times in the seven years the NHRA has raced here, including last year.

SPECIAL PLACE FOR ARANA SR. - Hector Arana, who captured his first Wally statue at Norwalk in 2008, in his 92nd career start, is in the top half of the field so far this year. He's seventh in the lineup with two more qualifying sessions scheduled for Saturday. Arana said, "This could be a good weekend for us." He has been to two semifinals in the past three races, at Englishtown, N.J., and Joliet, Ill. He said this past week that he has taken his engine apart and looked at the heads in an effort to "examine what is going on so we can be ready for Norwalk." It appears he found whatever he was looking for. Now he's talking like he has to try to keep up with his sons. Hector Arana Jr. still leads the standings, Dad is third, and rookie Adam Arana is seventh. "Arana riding well now," Hector Sr. said, "so I've got to stay focused and do my best."

 BUT HE STILL LOOKS SHARP - Odolph Daniels, a Detroit-area racer who made his Pro Stock Motorcycle debut in 2011 at Atlanta (where he didn't qualify but took home the Best Appearing Crew award, struggled in both runs Friday and will start Saturday's qualifying from the 20th and last place.