IHRA MOTOR CITY NATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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RAINOUT NOTEBOOK -
BUBBLE UP – IHRA officials
got limited sportsman racing in on Saturday before yet another batch of rain
blasted Milan Dragway. Once the sun came out, the damage became evident. The
rains had saturated the ground so much that water kept working its way to the
surface of the track with each pass of the track dryer.
TOP FUEL
UDDER NONSENSE – Bruce
Litton is running a one-off paint scheme during the NHRA Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals in honor of his sponsors Forrest and Charlotte Lucas and their cattle
ranch.
“Forrest loves cattle, so
this car will be one large cow,” Litton said. “I’m kind of a simple guy and
solid colors appeal to me the most. Even the paint scheme I have is extreme by
my standards. When they told me the car will be painted like a cow and the
lettering will be branded on it, I knew it was quite out of the realm for me.”
LEARNING EXPERIENCE –
Bruce Litton has a good track record when it comes to preparing rookies for the
challenges of Top Fuel. Case in point, previous protégé J.R. Todd is one of the
leading stars in the class, and new driver Jeffrey O’Neill reached a final
round in his debut.
Litton is aware that as
talented as rookies are, however, they still can make blunders.
Litton was next in line to
run during the first round of eliminations at
Luckily, O’Neill was
unhurt and the car suffered minimal damage.
“I knew we were down for a
while and someone came over and told me that Jeff had gone into the sand,”
Litton said. “I wouldn’t want him to get hurt and I knew he had just won the
round. I was concerned the car couldn’t be brought back.”
Now, for Litton’s joking
assessment of O’Neill’s driving style.
“He’s truly hard on
paint,” Litton said with a smile. “I’ve seen him put the nose in the sand and
spill nitro on the paint. He is a truly good driver. He’s just hard on paint.”
Litton said the
“That was only his second
time to the finish line,” Litton said. “I thought it was just the lateness on
the chutes, but the level just didn’t go far enough forward. We discussed it
and change some things on the levers.”
How can you scold a driver
after a win?
“There’s no way I could
scold him after winning, especially when he took out the point leader,” Litton
said. “He did do a really good job.”
Could a celebration have
aided in the visit to the “beach” for O’Neill?
“I don’t know how much of it was celebration, it just all happened so fast,”
O’Neill said. “It was just a mental mistake.”
OUCH – Scotty Cannon said
he’s known for sometime that race cars are prone to crash. It’s just the tow
vehicles that catch him off guard.
Cannon was running errands
in the days before heading to
“A lady ran a red-light
and hit me,” Cannon said. “That’s why I didn’t drive my car during Indy
testing. I was a little bit sore. I don’t know what is worse. Racing with these
idiots out here or driving out on the streets.”
Cannon said he saw the car
coming towards him in his peripheral vision, and it never slowed down.
“I was okay – just a
little sore,” Cannon said. “I called her the other day to make sure she was
okay. She’s actually an RN nurse.”
Cannon said it was his
first traffic accident since he was 16 years old.
PRO MODIFIED
STOP!!!!!!! – Last year
Chip King realized how costly a failure to stop can be in
King ran off the end of
the track during a qualifying run and did an extensive amount of damage to his
unique Pro Modified Dodge Daytona Superbird.
King now has the car back
in competition, and he chose to reintroduce it at Milan Dragway.
“When we brought the car
back out, this was the place we came to test,” King said. “We used that to put
the whole experience behind us.”
In the interest of fair
reporting, King has had the car out on some ADRL eighth-mile events prior. As
for the quarter-mile, this is the first one.
King said he holds no
phobias about running
“I don’t think it is a
problem to do that,” King said. “You kind of forget where you are when you get
in action.”
King said he might shut
off a little earlier this time.
“I discussed that with a
crewmember, who said he didn’t mind if I lifted early as long as it was past
1,200 feet,” King said.
PRO STOCK
COMPARING NOTES – John
Montecalvo and Rickie Smith were supposed to have the identical powerplants
from Sonny Leonard. However, Montecalvo has posted some impressive numbers
recently, and Smith wasn’t convinced that things were equal in the horsepower
department.
That’s when Smith opted
for a head-to-head test.
In a good-will gesture,
Smith offered to transport Montecalvo’s engine back to Leonard’s shop for
freshening following the event in
Smith was right. Their
engines weren’t equal. His was actually stronger.
“It was good to help
Rickie out because he’s helped us out before,” Montecalvo said. “By letting him
take my motor back and dyno it alongside of his, it at least showed him the problem
was somewhere other than his engine.
“You tend to second guess yourself. I know it has happened to me before. You
wish you could put your engine in someone else’s car. You wonder if it is the
car, the motor or even yourself. I was glad to help. It showed Rickie that he
needs to look somewhere out. It helps Sonny because he’s taken his knocks from
this person saying that person gets more horsepower. Sonny wants his clients
1-2-3-4 and it doesn’t matter who gets what.”
Smith has an idea where
his problem is.
“The problem is that I
can’t run the timing he [Montecalvo] runs,” Smith said. “We’re working on that
and believe it to be a water flow problem. We’ll find that out soon. Every time
I put the timing in it, the car slows down. We take timing out and it slows
down. It just won’t take timing. We are off about 2 degrees from him.”
Montecalvo said his team
would be experimenting soon with some things.
“We went 221 (mile per
hour)in Epping and that was impressive,” Montecalvo said. “I have just had a
bad run of miserable luck the past four races. Stupidest things that could have
happened have happened. Stuff like transmissions popping into neutral. You name
it and it has happened. Unfortunately I thought we’d be in first by a bunch at
this point in the season. I just want to finish the season on a high note.
BACK TO THE BASICS – Once
upon a time, Pro Stock racers easily switched from their class to Super Stock
and other sportsman class racing divisions. Today’s demand for specialty has
all but ended that practice.
It has ended for virtually
all except for one – Dan Seamon.
Seamon, a former IHRA
Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Stock champion, entered the Super Stock
division to drive Jimmy Primoz’s SS/CM 2006 Mustang.
“I just got tired of
beating up on those guys,” Seamon said. “This beats sitting at home. It’s fun
to do and I have a nice hot rod. My wife was getting nuts with me being at home
so much.”
Seamon’s class SS/CM is
essentially a throwback to the old Modified eliminator C/Modified Production
division. Back in the day, the class was littered with 1965 Mustangs using 351
cubic inches. This car utilizes 362-inches and runs 9.40s on a 9.95 index.
“The car is a tank, it
weighs 3,300 pounds. Getting it out there is a challenge, but once it gets out
there, it goes.”
Seamon’s largest challenge
is in waiting for the five-tenths tree to cycle instead of the instant flash of
a pro-tree.
“I can describe it, I have
a hard time waiting that long,” Seamon said. “I’m getting better with it.”
FUNNY CAR
“It was overwhelming and a
true honor to be considered,”
While much attention is being given
to Leah Pruett’s test runs in a Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car, what is not
commonly known is that multi-time champion Rob Atchison also applied for the
soon-to-be-vacated seat of Gary Scelzi.
“I went down and met with
him, it was a great interview,” said
“It was overwhelming and a
true honor to be considered,”
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -
OVER BEFORE IT BEGAN - Friday's professional qualifying ended before it began. Just twenty minutes before the Pro Stock cars were to roll to the staging lanes, IHRA officials made the rounds informing teams of an impending storm bringing high winds, possible hail and lots of rain to the already drenched area.
As the time approached for qualifying to begin, a series of swirling clouds above provided a show for those who elected to remain outside of the buttoned up transporters.
Rain is forecast for the first half of Saturday morning but is expected to clear by Noon.
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - A RECORD SETTER, ZIZZOS ARMY OF ONE, MEMORIES FOR CREASY AND RACING IN DETROIT'S BACKYARD
BETTER BRING AN ERASER – In the past two weeks, competitors on the Knoll
Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series have set three world records.
If the month of August
continues like it has,
“We haven’t held a record
in a few years…we used to have one in 2001,” said Janis, reflecting on when he
held the ET record at 6.112. At that time, the speed record was 231.20. “To go
240 in one of these cars, a couple years ago, it was just a dream. We never
thought we’d hit 235. It’s running 240 pretty consistent now.
“If you get some good air,
you might see a 245. Air wasn’t all that great (in Epping), but you get some of
that good air and these things will haul,” he added.
As records continue to
fall, the championship chases are heating up as well. In Knoll Gas Torco Racing
Fuels Pro Nitro Top Fuel, T.J. Zizzo and Bruce Litton have each led the points
twice this year. Litton took it back from Zizzo two weeks ago during the
Northern Nationals, only to give it back the very next weekend in
TOP FUEL
THANK YOU VERY MUCH – In a world dominated by the phrase, “It’s all
about me,” Tony Zizzo is doing all he can to dispel that thought process.
Zizzo said it’s all about
them. It’s all about the 14-members that make up his team’s infrastructure.
"This entire team is
made up of men and women with full-time jobs," Zizzo said. "Normally
they're all here on Tuesday and Saturday night getting this car ready for a
race. In August, we had three races in row and they were all here every day of
the week, yes, including Sunday. It's not like these guys live in the
neighborhood; some have to fight 30 to 40 miles of
"It would be hard to
find 14 people to do what these guys do for money, much less just for the love
of drag racing. This team is something special. I may never get to experience
this again in my career, a chance to be a part of something special."
FOR A GOOD CAUSE – Terry McMillen will partner with the Tuberous
Sclerosis Alliance (http://tsalliance.org/) on a campaign to raise awareness
about tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).
TSC is a genetic disorder
that causes tumors to form in many different organs, primarily in the brain,
eyes, heart, kidney, skin and lungs. TSC
affects at least two children born every day. Current estimates place
TSC-affected births at one in 6,000, approximately 50,000 in the
McMillen became aware of
TSC after hearing the story of Stone Wendel, the 10-year-old son of George and
Becky Wendel.
"I remember speaking
with George not too long ago," McMillen said. "He shared with me what
the last 10 years have been like with Stone. Then, I remembered what it was
like when I lost my son Jason. While Jason didn't have TSC, we were constantly
searching for answers and we often felt helpless. Thanks to groups like the TS
Alliance, support and information is readily available when families need it
most."
While the TS Alliance is
committed to finding a cure for tuberous sclerosis complex, it is also
dedicated to improving the lives of those affected. Founded in 1974 by four
mothers that wanted to generate awareness, pursue knowledge and provide hope to
those that shared the common bond of TSC, the TS Alliance has grown to more
than 33 community alliances in the
"We're very excited
about teaming up with Terry McMillen and his race teams," said Kari Luther
Carlson, acting CEO of the TS Alliance, "This is a great opportunity to
create an awareness of TSC to the drag racing fans across
McMillen and the TS
Alliance are looking forward to hosting a special awareness event during the
Torco Race Fuels President's Cup Nationals at the Maryland International
Raceway, September 28-30. Details of the event will be announced in the coming
weeks.
A REAL DOG DAY – While much of the country has been at the mercy of an unrelenting
heat wave (except
Prior to Zizzo’s final
qualifying attempt, a dragster before him had vibrated loose a water plug in a
cooler sitting on the starting line. The draining water leaked over into his
lane forcing a delay while the wet stuff was cleaned up.
"That made for an
interesting evening," Zizzo said. "My team had to really work hard to
service our car an additional time and they did a great job." But the
extra effort wouldn't help Zizzo's uneventful final qualifying attempt.
"Unfortunately we had to run a little bit later in the evening. It could
have affected the outcome, you never know. That's just how it goes
sometimes."
LITTLE WHILE LONGER – Jeff O’Neill has a few more races left to run this
season. The 26-year old rookie driver, who drives a second dragster for Bruce
Litton, will drive in three more events this season.
That’s a boost for
O’Neill, who drove his way to a runner-up finish in his debut event back in
July. Last weekend in Epping didn’t provide the same results but left him
encouraged, nonetheless.
“While it doesn’t look
real impressive on paper, we actually had a very good outing,” said O’Neill,
regarding his first round loss in N.H. “It’s amazing how fickle Top Fuel cars
can be, and how difficult it is to get this much power to the race track. Last week in
“But, with every run we
learned something, and every session we got closer to where we needed to be, we
just ran out of time. As a driver, I’ve
got so little experience in Top Fuel that every run is a huge lesson for me. Here, I made my first night qualifying run--which
was really cool. It’s hard enough to do
what you’ve got to do in the four and a half seconds we’re on the track. At
night it seems like everything is even faster, and it’s harder to see the
groove and the finish line. But with
every lap, I’m getting more comfortable in the car, and the race is starting to
slow down for me. I feel like I’m making
progress as a driver.”
FUNNY CAR
MEMORIES –
Last year in
Creasy said it’s the
painful reminder it was the last time he ever raced Vinny Arcadi.
Arcadi would finish his
career best season fourth in IHRA points before losing a battle with cancer
later that same year.
"Vinny was a good
guy," Creasy remembered. "He had a great season that was full of
excitement. He set the track record in
READY FOR THE CHALLENGE –
All it takes is one time to inspire a man.
For Andy Kelley, scoring
his first “Last Man Standing” qualifying award and highest qualifying position
of his career has him excited about the opportunity to move up in the points
standings.
Kelley is in fourth place,
just 41 points shy of second place Terry Haddock.
“We’ve got an opportunity
to wrap up our first full season of IHRA Nitro Funny Car racing in the top
three,” Kelley said. “That would be a great accomplishment for a couple of
truck mechanics from
“It seems like he keeps
qualifying number one, but has had a string of bad luck that will surely
end. At the same time I feel like we’ve
gotten more consistent and can challenge Jack [Wyatt] and Terry [Haddock]. It
should be a heck of a finish.”
Kelley has the opportunity
to win some cold hard cash and that will come in handy for the low-budget team.
“We’re going to bust our
tails these last four races,” said Kelley.
“But regardless of what happens with the points chase we’re all having a
blast. Racing a nitro Funny Car, hanging
out with the fans, and working with a fantastic crew is living a dream.”
PRO MODIFIED
BETTER GET MOVING – Scott Cannon, Jr. is intent on preserving his
father’s record. Longtime family friend Quain Stott is determined to break it.
The focus is on winning
back-to-back championships. Stott is the defending champion and Cannon
currently leads the championship race.
No other Pro Modified
racer since the elder Cannon has pulled off the feat since nailing a four-peat
from 1991 – 1994.
With four races remaining,
Stott finds himself third in points, just 68 points from Cannon.
"I think we're just
about the same place we were last year," Stott said.
With four races remaining
in the 2006 season Stott was in third place and trailed Glen Kerunsky by just
17 points.
"We've ran about as
well as we did last year, Scotty is just tough this year," Stott added.
"Plus, I think he owns the Last Man Standing award (earning 5 additional
points on Friday and Saturday night for low ET)."
LEAN ON IT, MAN - Cannon has claimed six of the 13 possible Last Man Standing awards.
In the high stakes game of
Pro Modified racing, Stott said that its time to show the muscle of his
"We're leaning on our
parts pretty hard," said Stott. "You hate to do that, but we've got
to find every once of horse power, every hundredth of a second. We're not going
to leave anything on the table."
GETTING THE LAPS IN – Matt Hagan is coming to
"We've picked up
another spot in the points and we've been consistently qualifying in the top
half," says Hagan. "We've got our formula down, the crew is working
great together, and we've got a great sponsor behind us. We're ready to go to
the top."
TRACK RECORD SPEAKS – When it comes to racing near the
“We qualified in the top
half of the field there last year, that’s not bad out of thirty six teams,”
added Spiering, the 42-year old driver from Jordan Station,
Spiering has momentum
working in his favor after having competed
at the Eaton PMRA
Challenge last weekend at Sanair in
“This has been a special
year for me and the Eaton Road Warrior Team,” said Spiering. “We have been
concentrating on improving the car’s setup and finding more horsepower in our
ERD engine program while competing at selected high profile events with the
valuable support from Eaton.”
PRO STOCK
IT’S GETTING TOUGH OUT HERE – Being a world champion doesn’t grant one a free
pass into the later rounds. Just ask Pete Berner. He’ll tell you that it is
earned at each and every race.
“The competition in this
class is getting tougher than ever,” Berner said. “This is the time the
championship is coming down the stretch and everyone brings their best game to
the table, every time. There is such a tight grouping of high quality race
cars. We have to get on our game if we want to win this thing.”
A trademark for Berner has
been in testing. He tested at
“We are trying to develop
this combination we’ve been working with lately,” Berner said. “The new one we
are working on, once we get it right, we are going to be really fast. We are
working on the consistency and it shows signs of greatness, but it also bites
us from time to time. Once we get it consistent, I think we will have it better
than ever.”
Patrick’s family owns a
Ford dealership in
“I love racing at
“Everybody would love to
win this race considering it is so close to
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