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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -

ANGIE SMITH WINS HER INAUGRAL PSM WALLY IN EPPING - The long wait is over for Angie Smith.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle racer, who made her NHRA debut in 2004, finally was able to take home her first Wally Sunday at the 2014 NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H.

It was a win-win for Smith as she raced her husband Matt Smith in the finals. This was the first time in NHRA history a husband and wife raced against each other in a final round.

Angie clocked a 6.905-second run at 191.89 mph, while Matt saw his chance at victory slip away when he had engine problems just after the 1,000-foot mark and he slowed to 7.230 seconds at 145.99 mph.

“It has been quite a journey,” said Angie, who was piloting the Kandy Racing Buell. “The final round I had to race my husband, which was crazy. I knew I had to just go up there and make a good run and do my job. My lights have been so close, I’ve been double 0, I had to squeeze the lever. What I didn’t want to do, is I didn’t want to give it up on the starting line. I didn’t want to redlight. I squeezed it a little too hard and I knew I was late because he shot out. I never want to wish bad luck on people, but I’m glad his motor blew up because if it didn’t he would be standing here right now. In this sport, I will take it any way I can get, it is my first one (Wally) and I’m proud to be here.”

Angie admitted becoming emotional moments after her memorable win.

“I was in the shutdown area and I was crying, I was screaming, I was just happy,” Angie said. “I can’t even describe to you what it feels like because we’ve worked so hard. You honestly don’t know if you are going to get the opportunity to hoist that Wally. I finally got to do it and it was pretty emotional.”

Nothing came easy for Angie Sunday as she defeated Jim Underdahl, and multiple time world champion Harley-Davidson riders Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines before besting her husband.

Angie used a holeshot – an .003 light – to upset Krawiec, who was the No. 1 qualifier.

“Eddie has whooped me so many times in the last seven years, I lost track. I stopped counting,” Angie said. “I owed him a lot and I just wanted this one. I knew I had to do my job. When I plugged it into fourth gear, I looked up because I didn’t see him and I didn’t hear him, and I looked up to see if my win light was on and it wasn’t, and so I just stayed tucked and we turned on the win light which was very important, especially with the Harleys as good as they’ve been running.”

Angie Smith has competed in 82 career NHRA national events and Matt Smith has raced in 167 career races, winning 17 times, highlighted by his two world championships in 2007 and 2013.

“Honestly, I’m really tired of dusting all of his Wallys,” Angie said. “I at least want to dust one of mine at the house and now I’m good with that.”

CAPPS WINS EPPING; SCORES 10 ON DISMOUNT - The most impressive part of Ron Capps’ victory was not how quick or fast he drove his NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car to victory at the NHRA Auto Plus New England Dragway. It was in how he landed the dismount in acrobatically exiting his winning vehicle after beating Alexis DeJoria in the final round.

Capps slid from the roof post across the hood and off the other side, landing on his feet. The move was premeditated and absolutely inspired.

“I think I pulled a muscle,” Capps said with a laugh after the move.

The move, Capps said, was inspired by fallen Funny Car driver Eric Medlen, who used to exit his winning Funny Car with a similar move.

“I was thinking about Eric Medlen winning, him grabbing the trophy as his guys pulled up,” Capps explained. “His guys sprayed full throttle on him and he ran and slid down the side of the car, which I always wanted to do. Eric did it and I thought it was the coolest move ever.

Capps admits he didn’t quite perfect the move.

“I was a dummy and tried to slide down the windshield and hope over the injector,” admitted Capps. “There were a few obstacles on the way down. I should have just done what Eric did. It was live television and I had a helmet on, how bad could it have been? I knew I would either land it or end up on Sportscenter for the wrong reasons.”

For Capps, everything, including the dismount, fell perfectly into place.

Capps scored his first win of the season and earned the final winner berth into the Traxxas Funny Car by covering the New England Dragway racing surface in 4.095 seconds at 315.19 to beat DeJoria who was gunning for an unprecedented third consecutive Funny Car win by a female driver. 


Capps admits the competitiveness of the Funny Car division this season makes losing a painful experience.

“There’s going to be two or three good teams who will fail to make the Countdown,” Capps said. “That’s how stout Funny Car is. It’s so scary that when we lost in the first round at Bristol, we fell three or four spots [in the point standings], and only a few rounds of falling out of the top ten. That’s crazy because I was fourth a few races ago. I thought to myself, anything can happen, you have a few bad races and you’re out of the top ten. Then all of a sudden you are on the West Coast tour, and worrying about how to get in the top ten.”

The victory marked the first for Capps since winning last season’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

“I cannot wait to get home and watch the race on DVR,” Capps pointed out. “You talk about side-by-side races. Our first two rounds were decided by thousandths of a second. I thought, ‘this could be a long day.”

“And, it was.”

SCHUMACHER CLAIMS TF TITLE IN EPPING - Tony Schumacher’s NHRA career has been a case study in excellence.

The Sarge, as he’s known, has won seven Top Fuel world championships.

This season, however, Schumacher has not been performing up to his lofty standards with just one race win.

Make that two now – thanks to a holeshot Sunday at the second annual New England Nationals.

Schumacher clocked a 3.824-second run at 323.27 mph to defeat Doug Kalitta’s 3.813-second lap at 323.89 mph.

The difference was at the starting line. Schumacher had an .051 reaction time and Kalitta left at .071.

“It was stout and intense,” Schumacher said. “The fans pay good money to go to a drag race and they got the best show I’ve seen this year. It was just outstanding racing. According to the stats, if we get past second round, we’ve won every race. That’s how bad we have done at the rest of the races. You go up and down and right now we’re up and we’re up at the right time. We’re going to Chicago, my home race next (June 26-29) and we’re going to (Norwalk) Ohio, and then we’re going to hit the Western Swing.”

This was Schumacher’s 74th career win and his second in 2014, the other coming at Las Vegas on March 30. That also was the only time Schumacher made it past second round this season before Sunday.

“We’ve been working hard and I almost feel bad,” Schumacher said. “We have not been giving them the Army car they are used to seeing. We haven’t performed, but as a team we understand what we are going through, we know what we’re trying to do, we know the goal, and that’s to make this six-disc clutch work. It’s very difficult. You see, Alan Johnson, you see a lot of guys struggling, guys who are very, very smart.”

Schumacher believes using the six-disc clutch is the best move for his team in terms of the future.

“On the side of it, when we get it to work, and push through these hard times it’s going to be something we need to do.” Schumacher said. “It’s necessary and we are going to start winning with it. It’s always out there (trying different things) and you have to find a way to win the Countdown. Running old stuff is not going to work. We’re going to be ahead of it. That’s why we have been trying to force the issue. Rather than run the five-disc clutch and win races and test on Monday, we’ve really spent a lot of time forcing it (the six-disc clutch) through.”

Schumacher’s victory parade consisted of wins over Steve Torrence, Antron Brown, Clay Millican, and Kalitta.

“You can’t ask much more coming out to New England Dragway and I’m just as happy as could be. We’ve had some bad breaks and (Sunday) we had some good ones.”

CONNOLLY RETURNS TO WINNERS CIRCLE IN EPPING - Prior to Sunday’s final eliminations, Dave Connolly admitted that crew chiefs Justin Elkes and Tommy Utt made wholesale changes to his Gray Motorsports Camaro, and in the end they worked.

Connolly, winless since the 2012 NHRA Nationals, scored the victory in his first appearance at the Auto Plus NHRA New England Nationals outside of Manchester, New Hampshire. His final round appearance was his first of the season, after having reached the semifinals three times this season.

Connolly was quicker off the starting line by .027 of a second and the head start, along with a 6.536 second pass, was more than enough to hand teammate and rookie Jonathan Gray his second consecutive runner-up finish in as many weekends.

The victory was a long time coming, and one he expected to achieve earlier in the season.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t expect it sooner,” admitted Connolly. “We have high expectations for this team with the caliber of people we have working on it. The talent pool is deep.”

Connolly believes the team’s first win, at this point in the season, is just a testament to the competitive nature of the Pro Stock class.

“This class is brutal and just tough,” Connolly said. “It’s every weekend we have thousandths separating us. Today was no different. When you go up there and look at the qualifying sheets and there were six to eight cars separated by a .01 each time – we knew it was going to be a weekend where you needed your left foot to win.”

Working for Connolly was a Gray Motorsports car which had low elapsed time for every elimination round.

Connolly ran a 6.513 on a bye run when Kenny Delco broke, and a 6.526 to beat Vincent Nobile. In the semis, he used a 6.517 to outrun Greg Anderson.

Connolly entered the event as the No. 3 qualifier.

“That just goes to show you how crazy this class has been,” Connolly said. “It’s a case of whoever makes the right decisions at the right time. You need a little bit of Lady Luck on your side too.”

Connolly couldn’t help but sing the praises of his team.

“Talk about a dream weekend, Shane qualifies No. 1 and we put two cars in the final,” said Connolly. “That’s a perfect weekend for Gray Motorsports.”

The victory marks the first for Connolly since the 2012 NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway outside of Reading, Pa.

RANDOM RACEDAY NOTES  -

NO TIME LIKE NOW – Up until Epping, Angie Smith had only beaten a member of Team Screamin’ Eagle once. She made up for lost time in Sunday’s preliminary rounds by taking out first Eddie Krawiec, 6.896 to 6.86, and then Andrew Hines, 6.908 to 6.92. She won every race at the starting line, carding a slowest reaction time of .017 in the first three races.

QUICK TURNAROUNDS – Because Sunday’s semifinals and final rounds were broadcast live, race teams were put on 55-minute turnaround times following the second round.

A LITTLE TOO FAR – Prior to the NHRA New England Nationals, New England Dragway had the racing surface ground in an effort to smooth the launch pad. Unfortunately an important part of the strip was ground too far.

“The starting line did have some rough areas that we ground down,” said NHRA VP of Operations Graham Light. “The aggregate was exposed.”

According to Light, the NHRA used their diamond bit grinder to smooth out the high spots on the exposed aggregate on Tuesday before the event.

“I think the Pro Stock crew chiefs did more to get the starting line to come around than we did,” admitted Light.

The Pro Stock cars struggled a bit in Q1, but by the evening session on Friday rolled around, the racing surface was accepting rubber as it should have.

YATES RELEASED - NHRA Pro Stock driver Chris McGaha and Jim Yates, who started the season as his crew chief, have parted ways effective immediately. A new crew chief has not been named.
 
"It was a tough decision, and a lot has been leading up to this point," said McGaha. "With the inconsistencies in our program, we felt like we needed to make a change. We wish Jim well, and we thank him for the time he spent with us."

GETTING CLOSER – Greg Anderson continues to inch closer to the top ten in points. With his semifinal finish, the Summit-sponsored driver cut the deficit down to 49 points with six races left to go in the regular season. Unfortunately for Anderson, he fell in the third round to Jonathan Gray, who was six points ahead of him in the standings. 


WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO? – Leah Pruett made five strong runs during Top Fuel qualifying and in the first round of eliminations even turned in a 3.831 elapsed time during the first round. However, for her efforts, she lost in the first round to a slower [by only .002] Khalid alBalooshi. Her .003 slower reaction time cost her .001.  

On the other hand, Richie Crampton ran only a 4.028 and this was enough to beat Dom Lagana’s 4.044 elapsed time.

SMOKIN’ – After qualifying No. 1 in Bristol, and then No. 4 here in Epping, Brittany Force fell victim to her second consecutive tire-smoking first round loss.

A STATEMENT – Doug Kalitta captured his 500th career round win and did so in dramatic fashion with low elapsed time of the round. Kalitta ran a 3.810 to defeat Terry McMillen for the momentous occasion.

“He is one of the greatest drivers, period,” said crew chief Jim Oberhofer, who scored his first round win with Kalitta while working as a crewman in 1998.

“This is a great place to do it and in front of great fans,” added Kalitta.

DEFENDING THE TITLE – Unexpected 2013 Pro Stock Motorcycle winner John Hall provided a not so subtle hint he planned to make a serious run at defending his crown. In the first round, Hall ran a 6.820, .04 quicker than his qualifying time to beat Chaz Kennedy.

I AM MY BROTHER’S KEEPER – For the tenth time this year the Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier was unable to race in the final round, thanks to a so-called sibling rivalry. Jonathan Gray knocked off the No. 1 qualifier and his brother Shane during eliminations, this time in the semifinals.

GIANT SLAYER – One could hardly blame Scotty Pollacheck for making a run at Andrew Hines, a member of the Screamin’ Eagle team which has dominated two wheel racing. Hines wasn’t the least bit off guard with Pollacheck’s effort.

“I knew he was going to try to cut my head off on the starting line,” admitted Hines.

Hines secured the victory by .007 of a second, and was greatly aided by a .005 reaction.

FIRST SEMIFINAL FOR MILLICAN – Familiarity was an asset for Clay Millican as he defeated JR Todd to reach the semifinals for the first time in 2014. Millican raced many years under the IHRA banner.


Millican is a four-time finalist during the IHRA North American Nationals, winning three consecutive times (2001 – 2003).

WELL, HE DOES HAVE A POINT – No disrespect to his tuner Jimmy Prock, but the cageyness of 16-time champion John Force came out in the first two rounds of eliminations. Force took out friendly rival Hagan with a quicker reaction and continued the trend against No. 1 qualifier and teammate Robert Hight in the second round.

Force openly admitted he’s using deep-staging as his weapon of choice. He also admitted there’s an ulterior motive to winning.

“You win a round you get to stand here with this beautiful car and this beautiful TRAXXAS woman,” Force admitted.

THERE’S ALWAYS ONE – Two of the four Pro Stock quarterfinal races were extremely close, less than .01 margin of victory, and another was reasonably tight at .04. However, it was the race between Allen Johnson and Aussie Shane Tucker which defied logic.

Both cars lunched and for about 60 feet appeared to be welded together, until they both encountered simultaneous tire shake.

Johnson recovered to win with a pedestrian 7.742 elapsed time.

OH THOSE $50 PARTS – Jeggie Coughlin only posted a 6.563 pass at 208.59 mph in losing to teammate Allen Johnson. The slower elapsed time was diagnosed as a broken part.

"We certainly didn't have the day we were looking for," said Coughlin, who hadn't lost in the first round of eliminations since February. "We had a $50 part break. One of the clutch fingers broke about midway through fourth gear. The engine started accelerating, but the car quit pulling. I'm surprised as heck that it still ran a 6.56 as it did. I knew it didn't break the motor but I was pretty certain it broke something in the clutch."

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

TOP FUEL

FRIDAY WAS GREAT FOR SATURDAY FOR BROWN – On Friday night, Antron Brown set the Top Fuel pace with a track-record lap of 3.770 seconds.

That history-making pass in his Matco Tools/Don Schumacher Racing dragster was one none of his competitors could match on Saturday at New England Dragway as Brown grabbed the pole position.

This was Brown’s 25th pole position in his Top Fuel career and his second this season.

"We know we have a great race car here with this Matco Tools team at DSR," Brown said. "We brought out a new chassis last weekend at Bristol and it was flawless. That credit goes to the DSR fab shop and this Matco team. They give us great equipment and put us in the position to do well.”

Brown faces Todd Paton in round one Sunday.

NO EASY START FOR DEFENDING CHAMPION – Spencer Massey, who won the inaugural New England Nationals a year ago, will have a huge first-round obstacle Sunday as he begins his title defense.

Massey, who qualified No. 6 at 3.796 seconds, meets reigning NHRA world champion Shawn Langdon. Langdon, who drives for Al-Anabi Racing, posted a best qualifying time of 3.841 seconds, leaving him No. 11 on the qualifying ladder. 

"We've had such a good car throughout qualifying that I can't wait for race day," said Massey, who drives for Don Schumacher Racing. "We've just been so consistent and the race car responds to the changes that Phil (Shuler) and Todd (Okuhara) are making and that's just great.

"Our car used to talk back to us and not always listen to what we wanted it to do, but it's really come around here in the last few races and we're just getting more consistent with each lap and that's what we're looking for."

Massey also set the track speed record at 326.63 mph on his final qualifying effort Saturday.

"I'd love nothing more than to leave here with the Wally (trophy) and be the only NHRA Top Fuel driver that's won here at Epping," Massey said. "That'd be pretty special and that's what we're after. We're doing great so far."

SHOWING FORCE – Brittany Force continues to show she is becoming a top contender in the Top Fuel ranks.

Force’s latest strong effort came Saturday when she ended up as the No. 4 qualifier at the New England Nationals with a run of 3.776 seconds.

“Despite being down on power this weekend and feeling sick, I’m looking forward to running Clay in the first round. I’m going to bring it on (Sunday) and go some rounds as I have a great team behind me and we have a great car that’s very fast and consistent,” Force said.

In first round Sunday, Force will face Clay Millican. Millican qualified No. 13 with a 3.887-second lap.

Force also was rewarded for her solid qualifying performances Friday and Saturday as she picked up some additional Mello Yello bonus points in three of the four sessions. From that standpoint, she surpassed her previous best, which was the Mile High Nationals and U.S Nationals last year when she received bonus points for two sessions at each event.

This weekend, Brittany got the precious points in the second, third and fourth qualifying sessions for a total of three extra bonus points.

“Anytime we get points, we’ll take them. We’re currently number eight in the standings and we’ve been there for a while. We want move up this weekend so we’re looking good come Indy. Then we’ll really battle it out,” Force said.

In the second session, changing weather and track conditions would negate any improvement over the team’s earlier run but crew chief Todd Smith, co-crew Chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli and the rest of the guys had Force’s Castrol EDGE Dragster tuned up as it marched down the track with a 3.829 second run at 322.11 mph.

“It’s a continual work in progress as we finally homed in on clutch and power applications and now it’s just working on consistency. We are real happy the way the car has responded and is performing and we’re given it what it wants and it’s accepting it. We’ll make some adjustments to the car tomorrow after we determine which lane is better before round one,” Smith said.

Force arrived at Epping No. 8 in the point standings.

INTRUIGING MATCHUP – The No. 8 and No. 9 battle in first round Sunday will be one worth watching as Steve Torrence squares off against Tony Schumacher.

Torrence is trying to break out of a slump that has seen him lose in the first round at three consecutive races - Topeka, Englishtown and Bristol.

Schumacher is sixth in the point standings and he beat Billy Torrence in the first round at the last event, the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Tenn., June 22. Billy is Steve’s father.

Schumacher last advanced past the second round when he won the Las Vegas race March 30.

KALIITA, TODD READY FOR ACTION – Season points leader Doug Kalitta will try to keep his 2014 momentum going when he faces off against Terry McMillen in round one Sunday.

Kalitta qualified No. 2 at 3.773 seconds and McMillen’s best run was 4.180 which left him No. 15.

J.R. Todd is No. 5 at 3.778 seconds. He gets Bob Vandergriff in the first round.

Todd was driving Vandergriff’s second dragster this season before departing and replacing David Grubnic in the second Kalitta Motorsports dragster during the first Las Vegas national event which ended on March 30.

ALBALOOSHI STAYS THE SAME – Like his teammate Shawn Langdon, third-year Top Fuel driver Khalid alBalooshi didn’t turn heads Saturday in qualifying.

AlBalooshi clocked a 3.819-second run on Friday, which left him No. 10 on the ladder. AlBalooshi faces Leah Pritchett in first round. Pritchett qualified No. 7 at 3.803 seconds.

LAGANA IS IN AT No. 15 – Dominick Lagana didn’t come to Epping with lofty expectations. He just wanted to make some solid qualifying runs Friday and Saturday and then see what happened Sunday.

Lagana did just that with a 3.915-second pass that put him at No. 15 on the ladder. Lagana gets Richie Crampton in round one. Crampton, a rookie, drives for Morgan Lucas Racing.

If this matchup seems familiar it should. Lagana made his 2014 NHRA debut at Englishtown, N.J., May 29-June 1. He qualified No. 15 and lost to eventual race champ Crampton in the first round.

NO ONE LEFT OUT – There wasn’t one Top Fuel driver leaving New England Dragway Saturday because of a DNQ.

There were 16 dragsters that showed up and 16 are in Sunday’s field.

FUNNY CAR

HIGHT CREATES NEW JFR FIRST – For the first time since John Force Racing expanded to four nitro cars, all members of the team recorded No. 1 qualifiers in a season.

Robert Hight facilitated the stat by holding on to his No. 1 qualifying spot. He joins John Force (3), Brittany Force (2) and Courtney Force (2),

Hight’s 3.998 elapsed time was untouchable, but as impressive as it was, it paled when compared to Saturday’s 4.066 elapsed time.

“That run was pretty stout,” said Hight. “We were on our way during the first run, and right when it locked the clutch, it smoked the tires. Mike Neff made a few tweaks and he told me that we were real close to making it. The closest to us was a 4.10. and in today’s Funny Car racing, when you have .04 on the field, that’s really good.”

Hight pointed out the conditions shown this weekend in Epping might be the only opportunity the teams get to test for the Countdown. He added Neff took advantage of the opportunity.

“Last year, when John Force won the championship, he outperformed everyone in the Countdown,” said Hight. “Luckily we got some of the conditions we will likely get during the Countdown. We can start testing for the end of the year. We have a good point lead and it’s encouraging that the car is going up and down the track right now.”

CRUZ IS IN CONTROL – To say Cruz Pedregon has found the sweet spot on his Snap-on Tools Toyota is an understatement. In the last four races, he reached the finals of Topeka, won Englishtown on the same weekend he recorded the quickest Funny Car pass in drag racing history and despite an off weekend in Bristol last weekend, rebounded strongly with a No. 2 qualifying effort in Epping.

Pedregon’s sweet spot appears to have been a revolving one this season.

“We’d like to think we’ve hit it,” said Pedregon. “But it’s always moving.”

Pedregon was second quickest in Q4, arguably the worst conditions of the weekend with a 4.11.

He heads into Sunday’s eliminations with a 4.026 best during Friday’s evening session.

STRANGERS IN A BAD, BAD LAND – Making their drag racing debut was the popular heavy metal group Godsmack as guests of Kalitta Motorsports. Lead singer Sully Erma and bassist Robbie Merrill were on the starting line for the first pair of Top Fuel dragsters.

A visibly impressed Erma described the experience as, “Holy blah, blah, blah.”

Erma’s reaction might be the best since famous actor Richard Dreyfuss pointed out, “I don’t know that I am able to speak English at this moment.”

CHANGES AT FORCE – John Force has made a significant change to his personal Funny Car team by releasing assistant crew chief Danny DeGennaro prior to the NHRA New England Nationals.

“Danny DeGennaro is a good man,” said Force. “He didn’t do anything wrong. It was just time for a change is all.”

SATURDAY IMPROVEMENT - Del Worsham saved his best for the second day of qualifying. The driver of the DHL Toyota recorded a 4.105 during the Q-3 session.  His best on Friday was a 4.135.

WE’RE ROLLING WITH AL - Paul Weiss, owner of the low-budget New Englander Funny car driven by Mike Smith, ran into a predicament on Wednesday before the Epping event. The person who usually transports his race car to the event was diagnosed with a heart condition which would require surgery. At the strong advice of the doctor, he had to stay home.

The New Englander team chose to sit out the final session

Knowing only 16 cars were slated to attend the event including him, Weiss made a call to the late Al Hofmann’s son Wayne, who agreed to transport the car but under one condition. Weiss had to run a decal on the car commemorating his father.

NO HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE - This has not been the hometown advantage Bob Tasca III has been looking for. In fact, qualifying has been an adventure. The Rhode Island-based racer scored his best run, a 4.221 second elapsed time, on a pass where a wheel fell off during the run. 

The broken wheel was just one issue on the run where Tasca had to wrestle an errant race car to keep out of Jack Beckman’s lane. The car also split a weld in the oil tank which dumped oil on the racing surface.
The broken race car was returned to the pits via flatbed truck.

In the second session, an unbolted steering wheel caused the car to drift right and scrape the retaining wall.

“At the end of the day, I’m a pretty good race car driver but I need front wheels and a steering wheel that works,” said Tasca. “As long as they can do those two things, I can get it down the track. It’s a real frustrating way to start the weekend,”
 
Tasca failed to make a full pass during Saturday’s sessions.

“We’re looking for some positives but right now we don’t have any,” admitted Tasca.

LUCKY SEVEN - In the heat of the day Tim Wilkerson was at his best. During the third session, he thundered to a 4.063 to climb from No. 10 to seventh in the qualifying order.

"That one made me, and all of my guys, pretty happy," Wilk said. "I messed up last night, making a late change I shouldn't have made, so to come out and go low of the session, get three bonus points, and pretty much just nail the tune-up is a good thing. I knew when I heard the time that we'd almost have to get at least one bonus point out of it, because that was right on the edge of what the track would hold at that time of day. Great effort by my guys.

"It was a kind of a strange qualifying deal here, especially with only being 16 cars entered. Some of the teams were skipping sessions, and Q2 was really the one serious home-run deal, so on Saturday there really wasn't a lot of jockeying going on. Where you were after Q3 was where you ended up after Q4. You don't see that very often. And you don't often move up to seventh and then draw Ron Capps in round one. There's a few match-ups like that on the ladder. We'll just do our best and see how it goes."

Wilkerson races Ron Capps in the first round.

HULK VERSUS SUPERMAN - Matt Hagan races friendly rival John Force in the opening round of eliminations.

"It's a big first round, that's for sure," Hagan said of his match against the 16-time NHRA champion. "But I won't lie, I love it. It's two good race teams battling it out in the first round. That should be a final round match-up, for sure, but we're ready to get after it.

Hagan is still searching for his first 2014 win.

"It seems like it's overdue for us, but you have to realize how hard these races are to win these days so we just have to keep digging and keep working hard."

PRO STOCK

GRAY GETS NO. 2 - Shane Gray recorded his second consecutive No. 1 qualifier following his Friday track record time of 6.485 at 212.79 in his Gray Manufacturing Chevy Camaro.

“We will see if we can get by first round,” said Gray, who will race Val Smeland in the opening round. “There’s always a chance that you will, always a chance you won’t. It’s always 50/50 out there.”

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS - The good news for Allen Johnson, in the midst of a trying weekend in Epping, is his Mopar teammate and engine lease customer Jeggie Coughlin recorded the fastest speed of qualifying. The bad news is the two will meet in Sunday's first round of eliminations.

Coughlin has been riding a hot streak with two wins, a runner-up and a semifinal in the four events leading up to this weekend for a 13-2 round win record in that span.

Johnson, in his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart, got on the right track with his quickest and fastest lap of qualifying, a 6.528-second (213.40 mph) E.T. to give him the 12th spot in qualifying.
 
Johnson has been mired in a feast or famine 2014 season. He has had four final round appearances this season, and three of them were wins. The bad news is he has also had five first-round losses, one of which was to his teammate in Atlanta where Coughlin’s hot streak started last month.

“The only time you really want to face your teammate is in the final round, and that happened in Topeka with my last win not too long ago,” Johnson said. “Jeggie (Coughlin Jr.)’s been on a roll here lately but I’m not ready to give up so easy and lose a third first round in a row. Those really hurt our points, and we need to go rounds and play a bit of catch up on Erica (Enders-Stevens) who has a good lead on Jeg and me right now. I’m defending winner here, and I’m not ready to give that title up just yet.”

A MUCH BETTER DAY - Jason Line ran a 6.524 in the final session, just .003 off his best run of the weekend. The second day was much better than the first for Line.

"Those were two of the best runs I've made in months," said Line. "We had a fast car today, and I am actually pretty stoked because it's the best we've run in a long time."

The starting line at New England Dragway was a challenge for the NHRA, who had to grind the area in the days prior to the event. The end result was success for Line.

"The good thing about this place is that NHRA is doing a great job prepping the racetrack and making both the lanes about the same," Line said. "I don't think lane choice will be a big factor tomorrow. If there is any difference between the lanes, it isn't by much."

A DIFFERENT VIEW - While the track worked well for Line, in Greg Anderson's case, he didn't experience the same good fortunes as his teammate.

"Today was a disappointment after yesterday; we just couldn't seem to get ahold of the starting line," said Anderson.  "The difference between the racetrack last night to today was major – and we couldn't get a hold of it and spun the tires on the rim both runs. I'm disappointed that we couldn’t get it done today, and obviously we have to make some major moves tonight."

Whatever shortcomings he might have faced on the track, however, back in the pits interacting with the fans proved very enjoyable.

"The fans up here just love Pro Stock racing," Anderson said. "They're an enthusiastic bunch of people, and it's really fun to interact with them at the ropes. When you pull up to make your runs – the stands are packed. That makes it a lot of fun to come up here. It is absolutely a bright spot."

NO SIBLING RIVALRY HERE - Some brothers will jump at the opportunity to fight for dominance. When it comes to the Gray brothers, Jonathan would prefer not to be on the same side of the ladder for the second race in a row.

"It just stinks," said Jonathan Gray, who beat brother and No. 1 qualifier Shane Gray last weekend. "You don't want it to line up like that. You don't want to have to do that. But it's our own fault for where we qualified. It's great he is in the No. 1 spot and I'm really happy about that. But I have to do a better job on where we end up so that we don't run into this type of situation. It's no fun."

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES - Dave Connolly had the quickest run in Q-4.

"We went back to basics and we have both cars running very similarly," said Connolly. "That's a big feat in itself. We were second quickest in the third qualifying session and in Q4 we were the quickest that round, so that's a really big confidence booster. Every time you go up there, there is a hundredth separating the top seven cars so it's going to be a good race. It makes you want to get up on the tire a little bit. I feel real good about tomorrow."

Luckily for Connolly, he's on the opposite side of the ladder from his teammates, the Gray brothers.

"The ladder couldn't have worked out better," Connolly said. "Shane and I are on opposite sides of the ladder tomorrow, and we both have good racecars – we just need a little bit of luck and skill for race day. Tomorrow's conditions should be similar to today, but running after the fuel cars takes a totally different approach because the track [changes], but I think our crew chiefs can handle that."

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

KRAWIEC GETS TRACK RECORD, POLE – Eddie Krawiec took center stage in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class Saturday.


Krawiec, who pilots the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley Davidson, rocketed to a track record 6.794-second elapsed time at 197.88 mph to grab the pole position at New England Dragway.


“It was a nice clean, straight run,” Krawiec said about his lap which came in Saturday’s first session. “It seems like the right lane grabs a little more than the left lane. The left lane you have the wall there to sort of allow the air to flow over you. It was a good lap. We’re working hard to keep our bikes continually up front.”


ARANA SR. MAKES FIELD – World champion Hector Arana Sr. had some plenty tense moments Saturday at New England Dragway.


When he came to the starting line for the fourth qualifying session, he was in danger of possibly getting knocked out of the field because he was in the No. 15 spot.

Arana Sr. ended any drama by clocking a solid 6.846-second run at 197.19 mph to move up in the ladder to the No. 5 spot.


“Things didn’t work out well (Friday) or (Saturday morning),” Arana Sr. said. “We were just fighting the bike all the way. The night session (Friday) I opened the throttle wide open and nothing. The motor wouldn’t rev or do anything. (Saturday morning) I was trying to get the clutch set up right and trying to find a good tune-up. I was No. 15 coming into the last qualifying session. It brought me back to reality being the second pair out. I was humbled. I thought you know what at any race you can be left out and not qualify. Now, that I made that good run (6.846), I definitely feel a lot more confident for (Sunday).”


While Arana Sr. was worrying about qualifying, his son Hector Arana Jr. was No. 2 in qualifying with his 6.796-second run at 198.50 mph. Adam Arana, Hector’s younger brother, qualified No. 11 at 6.901 seconds.


“We are still working on Adam’s engine,” Arana Sr. said. “He broke the engine and hurt it bad (at the last event). He hurt it bad, so we’ve been behind the 8-ball trying to get motors together. He made a couple of consistent runs and we should be able to look at it and see what it needs. He should be able to run better. Hector Jr. is just getting a lot more comfortable on that bike and squeezing every bit out of his bike. He’s making perfect runs. We’re not holding back. When we run it, we run it 100 percent and then some.”


As for Sunday, Arana Sr. is upbeat.

“We just have to stay calm and let it come to us,” Arana Sr. said.


RAY READY FOR SUNDAY – Michael Ray, who drives for George Bryce and Star Racing, admitted this season his team has had to go through some struggles, but he believes they turned the corner Saturday at Epping.


Ray qualified No.6 at 6.850 seconds at 196.13 mph. Chaz Kennedy, Ray’s teammate is No. 10 on the ladder at 6.895 seconds at 193.29 mph.


“We struggled the last couple of races just really getting a consistent tune-up back in the bike where George was happy,” Ray said. “(Saturday morning) George was able to kind of smile a little bit, more than I’ve seen him smile in the last few weeks which is a good thing. I think it is great.”


Now that he and Kennedy are in the field, Ray knows anything can happen.


“There are a handful of bikes that can go out there and win and I definitely wouldn’t count out myself or Chaz,” Ray said. “We just need to go up there (Sunday) and not be afraid to be ruthless on the tree. There’s so many bikes that are consistent right now, it is really going to be a leave first, get there first mentality. The wind wasn’t as bad (Saturday) as it was (Friday) and maybe we will get a little bit of a break and hopefully it will die down a little bit more (Sunday). You just have to go up there and race clean and race smart.”


POLLACHECK SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS – The Matt Smith Racing riders fared well in qualifying with the exception of Scotty Pollacheck.


Matt Smith qualified No. 3 (6.816), John Hall (6.864) was No. 7 and Matt’s wife, Angie Smith, (6.876) was No. 8.


Pollacheck had trouble Friday and Saturday and made it into the field at No. 13 with a best effort of 6.935 seconds.


“I think we are making headway, but I don’t have a clue why we are not going fast,” Pollacheck said. “The last run (Saturday) felt like I made a good pass and it still went slow. I know we are going to have a lot of work to do (Saturday night) to get ready for Sunday. The good thing I have going for me is any time you roll up there (to the starting line) it is a 50-50 deal.”

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK-

TOP FUEL

BROWN CAPTURES EPPING TF PROVISIONAL POLE - While Antron Brown was watching the second round of nitro Funny Car qualifying Friday evening at New England Dragway, he expected to post a low elapsed time himself.

And, the world champion Top Fuel driver did.

Brown clocked a track record ET of 3.770 seconds at 323.58 mph to claim the provisional pole at the second annual New England Nationals.

“After the first session, the track definitely had some teeth in it,” said Brown, who pilots the Matco Tools dragster for Don Schumacher Racing. “The first session we went on a good run (3.790) and we came back and we just wanted to improve on it. We definitely wanted to run lower than a 77 but the track was so good, it had such great teeth, that it sucked some of the tune-up out of the race car on the starting line. We actually went slower in 60 foot into 330 than our first run, but it made it up everywhere else down the track because Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) gave it that 1-2 power punch and it definitely picked up the mph to half-track and out the back half and made up numbers there. That’s how were able to improve. We were definitely wanting to shoot for a lower ET than that, but it still feels good to sneak out of there with that No. 1.”

Following his performance, Brown made a point to praise the conditions at New England Dragway.

“It was incredible out there, it had some teeth,” Brown said. “Hopefully we will get another session like that (Saturday) so we can get another lick at it. We were shooting for a 74 out there. Brian and Mark, they put the car on a run like when we ran a 74 at Atlanta (earlier in the season). We just needed a little bit more early. It wore some clutch that lap and that’s a good indication telling how good the track is. It made the tires hook and something has to give and it gave in the clutch department and we won’t underestimate that again.”

Brown has 35 No. 1 qualifying positions in his Top Fuel career, including one this season in Las Vegas.

“It is very, very possible it (the track will maintain its bite) because we run earlier (Saturday),” Brown said.

Brown arrived to Epping second in the point standings, thanks to wins at the season-opening Winternationals and Houston.

BRITTANY SHOWS SOME FORCE - Brittany Force and her Castrol EDGE Dragster made two strong qualifying laps Friday.

Force’s best run was 3.776 seconds at 325.45 mph on Friday night which left her in the No. 4 position.

“I was excited to get the car down there, it made a good clean pass and it ran a 3.77 so I’m very excited about that,” Force said. “This probably our best chance to run a good number and out it on the board because the weather and track conditions were excellent and we did just that. We moved up to the number four spot so I’m very happy.”

In the first session, Force had run 3.830 seconds at 321.58 mph that placed her in the eighth spot. Crew chiefs Todd Smith and Dean “Guido” Antonelli wanted to play it safe on the first session and make a good clean run.

MILLICAN EYES IMPROVEMENT - When Clay Millican signed on to drive a Top Fuel dragster for Dexter Tuttle this season, he knew there was going to be a learning curve.

Through 10 races this season, Millican is ready for his team’s fortunes to change.

Millican arrived at NHRA’s New England Nationals Friday through Sunday after three first-round losses in a row, leaving him 12th in points.

“We’re just trying to get caught up will all these many races in a row,” the ever-optimistic Millican said. “We’re just trying to get caught up with this car because it keeps throwing us curves. Dexter has a lot of parts and pieces and we have the parts and pieces here, but it is just like the thing just keeps fighting us for whatever reason. We have just to keep positive and it is going to work out. It is not any one thing we are having trouble with, it’s just like we continue to have troubles from here and there. We’re just struggling a little bit, but we are going to get it figured out.”

Unfortunately on Friday, Millican’s luck didn’t change.

In his only qualifying lap of the day, he had trouble right off the starting line and posted a 6.300-second elapsed tme, leaving him out of the top 12 in qualifying.

Millican’s best qualifying effort this season was 12th twice – at Gainesville, Fla., and last weekend at Bristol, Tenn. Millican has 2-10 round record this season, advancing to the second round at the season-opening Winternationals and at Atlanta.

“This is one of those deals where every run is the most important run you’re making, that’s the way I look at it,” Millican said. “You want to make the best possible run you can, and you see how all the other cars did and that’s how you compare yourself. It doesn’t matter what happened last week and it doesn’t matter what’s going to happen next week.”

Unlike most Top Fuel drivers this weekend, Millican is plenty familiar with the Epping, N.H., facility since he was a six-time IHRA Top Fuel world champion. Epping, N.H. joined the NHRA national circuit last season.

“I’ve won up here a lot,” Millican said. “We’ve ran really well here. I love coming up here.”

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS FLEXES ITS MUSCLES – Doug Kalitta has been running strong all season and that didn’t change Friday.

Kalitta, who came to Epping as the points leader, qualified No. 2 Friday at 3.773 seconds. His teammate J.R. Todd is No. 5 on the ladder at 3.778 seconds.

Kalitta has one race win this season at Gainesville and five runner-up finishes.

TORRENCE AIMS TO KEEP STREAK GOING – Steve Torrence is one of only three Top Fuel drivers to have qualified eighth or better in each of the 10 races this season.

On his first qualifying pass Friday, he clocked a 3.817-second run, which left him eighth on the ladder.

One trend Torrence would like to change is getting to the winners circle, something he has yet to do and he’s trying to rebound after three consecutive first-round losses at Topeka, Englishtown and Bristol.

TOUGH DAY FOR THE CHAMP – Shawn Langdon is the reigning Top Fuel world champion and after his win at Bristol, Tenn., June 15 he moved up to third in the points.

Langdon, however, didn’t carry that momentum with him to the New England Nationals in Epping – at least on Friday.

Langdon’s best run was 8.129 seconds, which left him No. 15 in the field. It’s worth noting, Langdon’s worst qualifying effort this season in his Al-Anabi dragter was eighth at Atlanta.

While Langdon struggled, his teammate, third-year Top Fuel driver Khalid alBaloos,i fared better.

AlBalooshi clocked a 3.819-second run which left him No. 9 on the ladder.

AlBalooshi entered the Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals in seventh place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings.

DEFENDING CHAMP MASSEY IS AT NO. 6 – Spencer Massey is the only Top Fuel driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series that has a Wally trophy from New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.

Massey began defense of his crown with a solid 3.796-second run which left him No. 6 in qualifying in his Battery Extender Powered Don Schumacher Racing dragster.

A year ago, he qualified No. 5 and went on to get the win at the inaugural New England Nationals.

SARGE GETS IN THE FIELD – Tony Schumacher didn’t have his best performance Friday at Epping, but he did show some improvement.

During his first run, Schumacher slowed to a 8.700-second time in his U.S. Army dragster, but he bounced back with a 3.820-second pass Friday night to land in 10th on the ladder.

CRAMPTON CONTINUES HIS MOMENTUM – Just two weeks ago, rookie Top Fuel driver Richie Crampton scored his first Wally when he captured the title at Englishtown, N.J.

Crampton, who drives for Morgan Lucas Racing, suffered a tough first-round loss at Bristol, Tenn., last Sunday to Antron Brown, but he’s trying to bounce back this weekend at Epping, N.H.

During his first laps at the track, which is in its second season on the NHRA national circuit, Crampton was impressive, posting a 3.774-second pass in Friday’s first session, leaving him third on the qualifying ladder.

Crampton’s best qualifying effort in the 10 previous races was second at Englishtown.

FUNNY CAR

NO COWARDS HERE – Robert Hight was up to the challenge during the mineshaft air conditions for Friday’s evening session, and tuner Mike Neff was as determined to ensure his driver delivered.

“It was pretty awesome, and we made a good run in the first session,” said Hight. “Mike Neff told me we were not going to be cowards, we were going to get after it. I honestly figured there would be a few more cars run in the threes. He said, ‘I’m tired of these guys having all of the fun.”

And have fun they did. Hight drove the Auto Club of Southern California Ford to a track record 3.988 second elapsed time at 321.58 miles per hour.

“It wasn’t like we didn’t know how to do it,” Hight explained. “We ran some 3.98s in Pomona this year. Neff isn’t a real aggressive racer. Usually he doesn’t get a lot of No. 1 qualifiers. He goes a lot of rounds because he races smart. Tonight, we put a different supercharger, and it was unbelievable. It was one of those runs where it was so fast and smooth that you don’t know how fast it’s going.”

LANNY SAID IT WOULD – If you’re wondering what the track will hold, just ask Lanny Miglizzi, John Force Racing’s track specialist.

“Lanny told us last year this was a really good race track even though there were some issues last year with the heat,” said Hight. “He said if we got good air, it’s going to run fast.”

“We saw the Pro Stock cars run track records and we knew. It’s a great race track and the air was unbelievable. We wanted to put on a good show for these fans.”

BEEN HERE, DONE THAT - Tommy Johnson Jr. believed winning with the Make-A-Wish team wasn't a matter of "if" it would happen, but "when" it would happen. Last weekend in Bristol, Johnson's words became prophetic.

"We've been really consistent all year long, and I just kept saying this team was ready to win – we were finally able to accomplish that last weekend," said Johnson, whose win was his first since 2007. "It was really nice to see the guys continue to work hard no matter what was happening, they just never give up, and they were finally rewarded. I'd love nothing more than to do it again this weekend."

Johnson does have previous experience in racing New England Dragway, dating back to 1998. In his only experience, Johnson was runner up in Top Fuel dragster to Doug Herbert during the 1998 IHRA North American Nationals.

T-PED ON THE RISE - Tony Pedregon’s semi-final appearance in Bristol this past weekend was his first since St. Louis in 2012.  The two-time Funny Car champion has earned at least one round win in three of the last six races, despite running without a title sponsor.

HEY, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY - Both Courtney Force [above] and Ron Capps lit their candles in celebration of their birthdays during Friday evening qualifying.

STILL STRUGGLING - Jack Beckman, winner of 10 event titles and the 2012 NHRA Funny Car world championship, has not won an event title since three races were left in the 2012 season. That's 37 events since the last time he hoisted an NHRA Wally trophy.

A first round Bristol loss dropped him to 11th in points and marked the first time he has been ranked outside the top-10 since the second race of the 2013 season and only the third time in the past four seasons.

"No excuses, we'll move on to Epping and get better," he said. "We have three more (races) in the next three weekends and six in the seven weeks, we just need to get some round wins.

"By the time we get done with that stretch it's going to separate who is going to be near the top of the standings and who is going to be fighting for one of the last 10 spots in the Countdown to the Championship.

"We will not be one of those teams at (the U.S. Nationals at) Indy on Labor Day fighting to get into the top-10 when the Countdown field is finalized."

YAY, WE GET TO RACE! - Mike Smith, driving the locally-based New Englander, and Dave Richards will race in Sunday's final eliminations since there are only 16 cars entered for this weekend's event.

PRO STOCK

STARTING A TREND – Shane Gray scored his first career professional No. 1 qualifying effort last weekend during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The second-generation drag racer returned in Epping, NH, seeking a helping of seconds.

Gray recorded a track record 6.485 elapsed time at 212.79 to wrestle away the top spot from Erica Enders-Stevens, who ran a 6.489.

“This feels really good but I’m really not used to it,” said Gray. “I’m real proud for Justin Elks, Paul Hoskins and all the boys at the shop. They’ve obviously done their work. My job is easy.”

Gray concluded first day qualifying by securing four bonus points. He’s 47 points out of fourth place in the top ten point standings.

COUGHLIN IS THE KING OF SPEED – Jeggie Coughlin entered into the track record feeding frenzy as he secured the top speed for Pro Stock with a 214.25 mile per hour blast in Q-2. He was the only driver to eclipse the 214 mph range.

GOOD DAY MATE! – Shane Tucker, by virtue of his Q-2 elapsed time, became the first Australian Pro Stock driver into the 6.4-second zone with a 6.496 elapsed time. The run vaulted Tucker from No. 12 to No. 4 in the qualifying order.

Tucker is running his second event of the season with horsepower supplied by Elite Performance.

“This thing only has 14 runs on it,” Tucker said. “To make a run like this is pretty awesome. This is for all of my guys, they work so hard.”

By .003 of a second, Tucker missed earning his first qualifying bonus point.

STILL WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND – Greg Anderson, who missed the first five races of the season, now stands 89 points out of the top ten. He’s presently in the No. 13 spot behind No. 10 Rodger Brogdon, Larry Morgan and Jonathan Gray.

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME - Last season fate and lack of sponsorship robbed both Erica Enders-Stevens and Dave Connolly of the opportunity to race at the inaugural NHRA New England Nationals.

At the time Enders-Stevens was racing under the Victor Cagnazzi Racing umbrella, and Connolly was her crew chief. Now the two of them are racing this year with different teams.
 
"It was disappointing that we weren't able to race there last year, especially with such a great crowd – but there is another great group of fans expected this year, and the weather looks like it's going to be very good as well, so we're looking forward to making the most of it," said Connolly, who is seventh in the Pro Stock points.

The point leader Enders-Stevens is coming off a win last weekend in Bristol, Tenn.

"I've been looking forward to racing Epping," Enders-Stevens said. "We'll try to carry the momentum from Bristol to there and see how it goes."

Connolly has won Pro Stock at 15 facilities on the current Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour and 17 overall (he also holds Pro Stock victories in Memphis and Richmond, where NHRA no longer holds national events). New England Dragway is one of just five racetracks where Connolly has yet to celebrate in the winners circle. In addition to Pro Stock victories he also won in Charlotte at the Four-Wide Nationals driving a Top Dragster.
 
"It's bragging rights to win at a new track, and it's something that every driver wants," Connolly added.

While Connolly's new home, Gray Motorsports, raced here last season. The Elite Motorsports team and Ender-Stevens headed into Friday's first session with a clean page in their Epping logbook.

"We didn't have any data from here, but there's not a racetrack anywhere that my crew chiefs can't handle," Enders-Stevens said. "They do a really good job with this race car, and I'm not worried about it at all. We'll be fine. We'll take it round by round and day by day."

During Friday’s first session, her words were spot-on as she raced to the top spot after Q-1 with a 6.514 elapsed time. She stepped up to a 6.489 but ended the day as the second quickest.

AFTERGLOW - Jonathan Gray still has a good measure of afterglow going on following his first final round appearance last weekend at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
 
"Even if you didn't win, to get to a racetrack with a final round right behind you is a very good thing," said the second-generation driver. "The morale is high right now, and we need to keep that up because it's a big part of being able to win, I think. If I can keep my head on straight and do my job out there as a driver, heck, I might just have a chance. The Gray Motorsports team is showing what we're capable of, and we have some momentum going. That's an exciting way to enter a race, that's for sure."
 
A bonafide Rookie of the Year contender, Gray ranks twelfth in the points with eight races remaining before the top 10 are set and the Countdown to the Championship begins.

"This is my first season racing in this class, and I can tell you one thing, it is very, very tough," said Gray. "To be able to even get into the top 10 would be an honor, and I have a great team behind me and a good car. It can be done. What happens every weekend out there is going to come into play when it's all said and done, so we don't take any of this lightly."

GONNA BE A FAST WEEKEND - With the conditions racers faced on Friday, Jeggie Coughlin didn't expect his 6.533 second track record.

"It looks like the weather is going to be cool all week up here, and with Epping being situated very close to sea level, I believe we'll see a little remake of those 6.40s we were having fun with just a couple of weeks ago," Coughlin pointed out.

Coughlin's reference was to the NHRA Summernationals in New Jersey when almost half the field qualified with 6.4-second passes. He went on to win, which added to another victory he scored in Atlanta. He also has a runner-up result in Topeka, Kan., this year, giving him three final-round showings in the last four national events.

"The entire J&J Racing team has been doing really well, not just on the JEGS side of the pit but also over there with (teammate) Allen Johnson's Mopar Dodge Dart," Coughlin said. "He was the one that beat me in Topeka, and he also won in Gainesville and Phoenix, so as a team we have five wins this season. That's remarkable."

The track record lasted until the fourth pair of Pro Stockers when Chris McGaha took over the lead. Consecutive pairs later also swapped the records as well. All total, in the first session alone, four drivers ran better than the track record.  The track record was only good enough for No. 11 by the end of the evening.

CLEARLY OPTOMISTIC - A breakthrough is clearly in the eyes of the beholder.

“Oh it’s coming,” said Vincent Nobile, who is ranked No. 6 in points. “We’ve been on the verge of something good for a while now; we just haven’t been able to get over the hump. In Pro Stock, these cars are so close and everyone is so competitive that you need for everything to be just about perfect in order to win. So far, we haven’t had that but I don’t feel like we’re very far off. We really just need a little bit of a break and I’m sure that we’re going to see some better results.”

Nobile holds a 13-10 record in elimination rounds including six semifinal appearances thus far in 2014.

“This stretch, where we have four straight races to start the summer, is really tough on the teams but it also gives us a good opportunity to pick up a win and make a move in the points,” Nobile said. “As drivers, we really love this time of the year because we get an opportunity to make a lot of runs and there is no substitute for seat time. I’d expect everyone in the class to be on top of their game right now.”

HANG ON SLOOPY - While Chris McGaha was busy setting track records momentarily in Q-1, veteran driver Larry Morgan took a ride on the wild side in his Lucas Oil Mustang. Morgan launched, began shaking the tires and turned towards the left retaining wall, and momentarily corrected before turning towards the right. He then crossed the center-line, narrowly missing the timing cones.

"I just had too much clutch in it," Morgan admitted. "I was just trying to turn the earth. I let the clutch out and blew the tires off. The conditions are fairly good. It was just the one behind the wheel on this one that wasn't so good this time."

SWEET SIXTEEN – Once Larry Morgan made a run to the finish line, the Pro Stock class officially had a full field. The veteran crossed the center-line in Q-1 and didn’t record an elapsed time.

MIA – No. 10 ranked in the points Rodger Brogdon, who initially planned to sit out last weekend’s Bristol event, made the decision to skip this event. He is expected to return to competition in August during the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

TWICE IS NICE FOR HECTOR JR – There’s was no one better than Hector Arana Jr. Friday at the New England Nationals in Epping, N.H.

Arana Jr., riding his Lucas Oil Buell, clocked a track record elapsed time of 6.807 seconds to capture the provisional pole Friday at New England Dragway.

Arana Jr. has 13 career pole positions, but none so far this season in four races. Arana Jr., who came to Epping fourth in points, best qualifying position this season was second twice at Charlotte and Englishtown.

Arana Jr. initially set the record in his first qualifying lap Friday with a 6.821 elapsed time.

While Hector Jr. was setting the pace Friday, his teammates father Hector Arana Sr. and younger brother Adam couldn’t keep up.

Hector Sr.’s best run was 7.328 seconds which left him out of the top 12 and Adam’s 6.901-second pass put him in the No. 7 position.

MATT SMITH’S SHORT-LIVED RECORD – Matt Smith did make a track-record run Friday evening with a 6.816-second lap, but the ink wasn’t even dry before Hector Arana Jr. put his name back in the New England Dragway record books four pairs later with his run.

Smith, the reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ is seventh in the points.

“The left lane has the shield of the wall and the right lane doesn’t,” Smith said about Epping. “Everybody had problems in the first qualifying session because there was a crosswind across the track. My second run was good. We left some on the table. If we would have had the right sprocket on we should have went probably 79. We can go faster. About 200 feet before the finish line it was done. It nosed over real bad.”

Smith’s teammates John Hall (6.876 seconds) and Angie Smith (6.901) qualified No. 5 and No. 8 Friday. Hall is the defending champion at the New England Nationals.

Scotty Pollacheck, the other MSR rider, did have trouble Friday posting a best time of 7.025 seconds which left him out of the top 12.

“We just need to get Scotty’s bike back tuned up,” Matt said. “Something is going on with his clutch. If we can get that fix, we can have four bikes in the top eight.”

Matt Smith is definitely optimistic for Saturday’s qualifying.

“I think we can (get a track record),” Smith said. “The weather is supposed to be cooler (Saturday) and if it doesn’t get too hot and if we are in the left lane, that’s the big thing, and according to what the wind does, then we should be pretty good.”

SOLID SHOWING: Perennial powerful Harley-Davidson riders Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines had strong qualifying runs Friday. Krawiec was third after the first day of qualifying at 6.852 seconds and Hines was fourth at 6.858 seconds

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN – Joining Hector Arana Sr. on the outside of the qualifying ladder are Jerry Savoie, Pollacheck, Justin Finley, and Sam Hurwitz.