NHRA AUTO CLUB FINALS - SAME DAY COVERAGE
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SUNDAY - SCHUMACHER, PEDREGON, COUGHLIN AND SMITH WIN NHRA POWERADE SERIES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CROWNS
Tony Schumacher and Matt Smith needed wins in the final round of Sunday's 43rd
annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals to clinch Countdown to the
Championship titles in the POWERade Drag Racing Series. New Funny Car champion
Tony Pedregon sweated it out until the semifinals before securing his second
crown, while Jeg Coughlin wrapped up his third Pro Stock title in the
quarterfinals.
For the second year in a row, Schumacher waited until 
the
final pass of the season to steal the title away, this time from "Hot Rod"
Fuller. He defeated Bob Vandergriff with the quickest pass of the race, a 4.486
at 328.30 mph. Robert Hight beat fill-in teammate Phil Burkart in the Funny Car
final when Burkart's car lost traction 200 feet out.
In Pro Stock,
Coughlin punctuated his title with his 38th career win, this one over first-time
finalist Justin Humphreys. Smith beat fellow Buell rider Chip Ellis in the Pro
Stock Motorcycle final.
Schumacher becomes the first Top Fuel racer to
win four championships in a row with his second Cinderella finish in as many
years. Entering this weekend in fourth place and needing help on many fronts,
Schumacher danced his way through to the final in his U.S. Army dragster and
blistered Vandergriff's UPS dragster 4.486 to 4.681 to win his fifth POWERade
championship by just 19 points.
"After the second round it was like déjà
vu," Schumacher said. "My knees started shaking and I had that feeling like
maybe we could do it again. The guys on this team are unbelievable when the
pressure is on. They showed it again today."
Temporary teammates Hight
and Burkart had little to race for in the final besides bragging rights and an
event trophy as the Funny Car title had already been decided one round earlier
when Hight couldn't run quick enough to set a national record, depriving him of
a chance at the 20 bonus points he would have needed to pass Pedregon.
Hight still shined in the final with the best pass of the weekend, a
4.731 at 326.71 mph in his Auto Club Ford Mustang.
"We pushed as hard as
we could in the semifinals to try and at least get the back-up for a record but
we broke a couple of lifters and it was a handful just to keep it off the wall,"
Hight said. "It would have been close but it didn't happen. If we had won the
championship it wouldn't have made this a great year. Winning the race didn't
make it a great year. We lost our teammate [Eric Medlen] this year and nothing
will make up for that. We all miss him like you can't believe. I'm gonna go home
and have a little ice cream, and like Eric always said, that is sure to make you
happy."
Pedregon was relieved and emotional after finally 
securing the
championship in his Q Horsepower Chevy Impala.
"This is racing, and we
want to win races, but we have to remember we're putting on a show, and I think
the NHRA did a great job with this Countdown," Pedregon said. "The biggest
difference between this year and 2003 when I won a title with John Force Racing
was the amount of media coverage. The stress is through the roof but in the end,
I think we have a better product now. I had people doubting my sanity when I
left John but I wanted to race with my brother and I wanted to see if I could do
it on my own. I know how difficult it is to race a team like that. I know what
they have over there. And to be able to beat them is special. Winning our first
race on my own was huge. To win this championship, I can't describe
it."
Two rounds after clinching his third NHRA title, Coughlin won his
38th national event by barely catching and passing Humphreys. The former NHRA
Sport Compact champion was ahead of Coughlin at every timer except the finish
line, but Coughlin's Jegs.com Cobalt had just enough steam to win with a 6.638
at 207.98 mph to Humphrey's 6.662 at 207.27 mph in his Knoll Gas & Energy
Pontiac GTO.
"This goes back to last week in Las Vegas when I woke up on
Sunday morning and said to myself that if I was gonna win the championship it
was time to get after it," Coughlin said. "No matter what car I had under me, I
needed to get it done. We made it to the final but lost to Greg and came in here
almost two rounds behind him. I had to have that talk with myself again and I
don't know if I was buying it this time.
"It was amazing to see how it
came out in Round 1 with Greg Anderson and Dave Connolly, two of the best in the
business, both losing like that. We knew we needed some help and we got it right
away. Then I just dug down deep and got that second round win and clinched it.
It's a phenomenal feeling."
The Pro Stock Motorcycle championship
came
down to the final round and Smith was superb under the intense pressure,
rocketing off the starting line on his Torco Race Fuels Buell and never looking
back, defeating Ellis's S&S Buell with a 6.944 at 191.191.08 mph to Ellis'
6.957 at 192.17 mph.
"I don't know if words can describe this feeling,"
Smith said. "I've had some big races before but nothing like this. My goodness,
it was all or nothing there.
"This is pretty special, especially with my
dad here helping us. We felt like we had such a great bike all year and we had
times where we just couldn't punch it through when we probably should have won
some races, but we never gave up and just kept fighting."
The
championship was put up for grabs after leader Andrew Hines rolled the lights in
the quarterfinals and red-lighted. Had Hines won that round, he would have
clinched his fourth straight title. Instead, he was relegated to second place.
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SATURDAY - POWERADE COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES TO BE DECIDED AT AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS; Schumacher, Arend, Connolly and Hines are No. 1 qualifiers at 2007 POWERade Series season finale
Four-time and reigning POWERade Drag Racing Series champion Tony Schumacher
raced to the No. 1 position in his last qualifying attempt Saturday at the 43rd annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals to add some more drama to the final day of the 2007 POWERade Countdown to the Championship.
In Funny Car, points leader Tony Pedregon barely made the field in the 16th and final spot, but by holding on he all but secured his second POWERade world championship. His rivals need him to lose in Round 1 while they go on to win the race and set a national record to steal away the crown.
The Pro Stock categories -- whose qualifying ladders are topped by Dave Connolly and Andrew Hines -- are still undecided but could be wrapped up by the semifinals if leaders Greg Anderson and Andrew Hines maintain their edge.
The Auto Club NHRA Finals is the second and final race in the Countdown to 1, the two-race championship round of the NHRA Playoffs.
Schumacher took full advantage of a drawn-out final session and used the cool evening air to power to a 4.508 at 320.58 mph in his U.S. Army dragster. Schumacher will now need to win the race and hope points leader "Hot Rod" Fuller loses in the first round to win it all. He'll also need Larry Dixon and Brandon Bernstein to bow out early.
"We have a very good racecar, especially this weekend," Schumacher said. "It was set up for awhile where I would have been racing 'Hot Rod' in the first round and that would've been cool. Then if we win it all, we do it by beating him. It's still open -- it's a longshot, but it's still there. I don't know if we'll have the chance to determine how it all comes out."
Bernstein is fourth on the ladder with a best of 4.524 at 328.54 mph in his Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, while Dixon qualified 10th with a 4.541 at 322.96 mph in his SkyTel dragster. Both men will need to go at least three rounds further than Fuller to win it all and neither will have a chance to meet Fuller until the semifinals at the earliest.
Coming into Saturday unqualified, Fuller was happy to qualify in the No. 11 slot with a 4.549. He'll clinch the championship if he reaches the semifinals, unless someone sets a national record.
"I was definitely relieved after that first run," Fuller said. "So many people were asking about not being in and all the fans seemed really worried. It actually made me nervous. It really felt like we had won the race just by qualifying. That might have been our biggest run of the year. I have tons of confidence in my team. I really felt we'd come out and make two good runs today and we did."
Local hero Arend remained the low qualifier in Funny Car, 
much to the delight of his legion of fans from nearby San Dimas, Calif. His reward for collecting his second career pole is a first-round date with current points leader Tony Pedregon, who all but clinches his second POWERade title by making the 16-car field.
"It's a heckuva draw getting the pending world champ in Round 1 but that's the way Funny Car is these days -- every car is great," Arend said. "It's our last race together with this team and this group of guys. We want to go out with a win."
Pedregon barely stayed in the field with a 4.842 that earned the 16th spot in his Q Horsepower Chevy Impala. By qualifying for the event, Pedregon essentially locked up his championship. The only way Gary Scelzi or Robert Hight can pass him now is if they win the race and collect a 20-point bonus for setting a national record with Pedregon losing in Round 1.
"I've been sweating bullets for the last month," Pedregon said. "Today we had to dodge bullets. We're really happy that we stayed in and still can control our own destiny."
Ron Capps was eliminated from the title race when Pedregon made the field.
Connolly earned his second low qualifier award in a row 
with a 6.648 at 208.01 mph in his Torco Chevrolet Cobalt. Last week, despite his great qualifying effort, Connolly lost in the second round and gave up the points lead. He'll hope to reverse that result here and make up the 47-point deficit he has to leader Greg Anderson to win his first championship.
"It's definitely going to be an interesting day tomorrow," Connolly said. "For the first time in my Pro Stock career we were actually trying to slow our Chevy down so that we didn't qualify No. 1. We wanted to get seventh or eighth so we could face Greg early and try to take him out but it didn't work. We added a bunch of weight and still went faster. We even thought about skipping the scales but the 6.66 we had from before
still would've placed us up there near the top so we might as well get the No. 1 bonus money."
Anderson looks sharp in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO, running a 6.654 and a 6.655 Saturday. He'll start eliminations in the No. 2 spot. Jeg Coughlin, who is in between Connolly and Anderson in the points, is fourth in his Jegs Cobalt after a 6.656 at 207.85 mph.
Allen Johnson has officially been eliminated from championship contention despite qualifying seventh overall with a 6.669 in his Team Mopar Dodge.
Hines' second low qualifier of the year came at a perfect time as it was worth an entire round of action Sunday. By out-qualifying Chip Ellis, Hines completed qualifying on his Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson with a 41-point advantage over Ellis. On race day, points are earned in increments of 20 so Hines' pursuers will now need to go three rounds further than him to steal away the title.
Ellis ended up third with a best of 6.965 at 191.46 mph on his Drag Specialties Buell. Matt Smith will try to win his first POWERade title from the fourth slot after a 6.965 at 190.46 mph on his Torco Buell. Peggy Llewellyn needs a lot of help but she can still win the title from the No. 5 spot on her Rush Racing Products Buell if all the pieces fall into place for her. She posted a best of 6.969 in Round 3.
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First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 43nd annual
Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at
Pomona, the final of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed
below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 4.508 seconds, 323.04
mph vs. 16. Alan Bradshaw, 4.589, 324.36; 2. J.R. Todd, 4.521, 328.22 vs.
15. Doug Kalitta, 4.586, 326.32; 3. David Baca, 4.523, 329.50 vs. 14.
Doug
Herbert, 4.574, 314.83; 4. Brandon Bernstein, 4.524, 330.07 vs.
13. Cory McClenathan, 4.566, 324.59; 5. Melanie Troxel, 4.525, 327.19
vs. 12. David Grubnic, 4.555, 323.81; 6. Bob Vandergriff, 4.532, 333.08
vs.
11. Rod Fuller, 4.549, 325.85; 7. Hillary Will, 4.538, 331.04 vs.
10. Larry Dixon, 4.541, 323.50; 8. Doug Foley, 4.540, 330.72 vs. 9.
Morgan Lucas, 4.541, 330.47.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Scotty Cannon, 4.600,
317.64; 18. Joe Hartley, .608, 321.81; 19. Mike Strasburg, 4.707, 291.01;
20. Clay Millican, .714, 326.16; 21. Urs Erbacher, 4.731, 315.19; 22. Steven
Chrisman,
4.899, 296.37.
Funny Car -- 1. Jeff Arend, Chevy Impala,
4.781, 324.90 vs. 16. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.842, 315.49; 2. Jack Beckman,
Dodge Charger, 4.786, 320.89 vs. 15. Gary Densham, Impala, 4.829, 318.92; 3.
Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.788, 326.87 vs. 14. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang,
4.827, 316.45; 4. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.796, 324.83 vs. 13. Tony
Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.826, 321.42; 5. Ashley Force, Mustang,
4.802, 323.81 vs. 12. Del Worsham, Impala, 4.821, 318.02; 6. Kenny
Bernstein, Charger, 4.804, 322.19 vs. 11. Jerry Toliver, Toyota Solara,
4.820, 326.24; 7. Mike Ashley, Charger, 4.807, 323.97 vs. 10. Mike
Neff, Mustang, 4.819, 322.27; 8. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.812, 323.50 vs.
9. Phil Burkart, Mustang, 4.813, 319.98.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Tommy
Johnson Jr., 4.849, 320.20; 18. Jim Head, 4.874, 321.35; 19. Scott
Kalitta, 4.876, 323.12; 20. Bob Bode, 4.888, 309.98; 21. Cruz Pedregon,
4.911, 318.09; 22. Grant Downing, 4.917, 296.18; 23. Bob Gilbertson,
4.959, 302.08; 24. James Day, 5.198, 265.90; 25. Terry Haddock, 5.219,
229.70; 26. Peter Russo, 5.799, 183.22.
Pro Stock -- 1. Dave Connolly,
Chevy Cobalt, 6.648, 208.01 vs. 16. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GTO, 6.687,
207.02; 2. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.654, 208.75 vs. 15. Justin Humphreys, GTO,
6.685, 207.75; 3. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.655, 208.49 vs. 14. Greg Stanfield,
GTO, 6.684, 207.11; 4. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.656, 208.14 vs. 13. Larry
Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.682, 207.21; 5. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.665,
207.02 vs. 12. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.679, 206.57; 6. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt,
6.667, 207.69 vs. 11. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.679, 206.86; 7. Allen Johnson,
Stratus, 6.669, 207.27 vs. 10. Max Naylor, Stratus, 6.678, 206.73; 8.
Jason Line, GTO, 6.670, 208.49 vs. 9. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.677, 206.76.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Kenny Koretsky, 6.690, 206.23; 18. Jim Yates,
6.696, 206.35; 19. Tommy Brown, 6.704, 207.21; 20. Craig Hankinson,
6.705, 206.70; 21. Ben Watson, 6.737, 205.19; 22. Bob Panella, 6.750,
205.44; 23. Gordie Rivera, 6.775, 203.65; 24. Todd Hoerner, 6.804,
205.22.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.956,
192.22 vs. 16. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.097, 188.02; 2. Angelle Sampey,
Suzuki, 6.959, 191.65 vs. 15. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.067, 190.08; 3. Chip
Ellis, Buell, 6.965, 191.46 vs. 14. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.066, 186.33; 4.
Matt Smith, Buell, 6.965, 190.46 vs.
13. Angie McBride, Suzuki, 7.057,
182.28; 5. Peggy Llewellyn, Buell, 6.969, 188.73 vs. 12. Hector Arana,
Buell, 7.035, 190.30; 6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.972, 189.90 vs.
11. Matt Guidera, Buell,
7.023, 187.94; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.006,
191.38 vs. 10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.022, 190.14; 8. Antron Brown,
Suzuki, 7.006, 188.15 vs. 9. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.021, 192.11.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Michael Phillips, 7.108, 189.79; 18. Mike Berry, 7.129, 185.51; 19. Michael Ray, 7.170, 181.59; 20. Ryan Schnitz, 7.375, 178.76; 21. Freddie Camarena, 11.096, 73.36.
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FRIDAY - MIDWAY THROUGH QUALIFYING, TF POINTS LEADER FULLER NOT QUALIFIED; Provisional No. 1's are JR Todd, Jeff Arend, Richie Stevens, and Chip Ellis
Countdown to 1 Top Fuel points leader "Hot Rod" Fuller may be in for a sleepless night as he remains unqualified at the midway point of time trials at the 43rd annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.
Should Fuller fail to qualify, he could be caught by any of the other three drivers – Larry Dixon, Brandon Bernstein and Tony Schumacher – still alive in the title chase. But the Las Vegas-based racer shrugged off the pressure while watching J.R. Todd stay No. 1 in Top Fuel to join Jeff Arend, Richie Stevens, and Chip Ellis on the Day 2 provisional low qualifiers podium.
"Everyone's asking me if I'm panicking and I'm really not," Fuller said. "We just had some little gremlins in there today but I know we'll be fine. We have a great race team over here. I think everyone else is way more worried about us than we are."
The Countdown to 1, the two-race championship round of the NHRA Playoffs, began last weekend at Las Vegas and it concludes this weekend in Pomona. ESPN2 will show qualifying highlights Saturday night at 7 & 11 p.m. ET and final eliminations will be televised Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
Dropped cylinders and tire smoke ended Fuller’s Friday run early while simultaneously pegging his stress meter as the POWERade series roars to its conclusion at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. He'll have two more chances to make the cut on Saturday in his Caterpillar dragster.
Fuller has only once this season come to the track on Saturday without a qualified run and on that occasion, at Sonoma in July, he delivered a No. 3-qualifying run on his third qualifying pass. Temperatures are expected to be at or slightly above 90 degrees Saturday with Top Fuel qualifying runs scheduled at 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
An hour or so after announcing a new deal that will pair him with good friend Morgan Lucas in 2008, Todd returned to the pressroom as Friday's low qualifier. Todd didn't improve on his opening pass of 4.521 at 328.22 mph after smoking the tires of his Skull Shine dragster, but no one else managed to pass him so he retained the top spot.
"I'm excited about our announcement and joining Morgan over there with that second car of his," Todd said. "John Stewart has that car running great. In my opinion, it's been the best car in the sport since the Countdown deal started. Hopefully next year we can get in that deal again and make another run. It'll be great if we can help Morgan get his first win also.
"The track's not as good today as it was yesterday. We ran a little later in the day Thursday and that probably made a difference. I think we were probably a little too aggressive and smoked the tires but we got lucky and no one went around us."
Brandon Bernstein remains the quickest of the Countdown to 1 racers, dropping one position to fourth place with his Round 1 pass of 4.529 in his Budweiser rail. Tony Schumacher is now seventh with a best of 4.544 in his U.S. Army dragster while Larry Dixon in ninth with a 4.572 in the SkyTel dragster.
Friday's slightly increased temperatures kept the nitro racers in check,
which meant Arend was able to hold onto the top spot in Funny Car with his first round time of 4.781 at 324.90 mph in his blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevrolet Impala SS.
"Things are looking pretty good for us," Arend said. "It's supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow so if someone can come out there and run quicker than a 4.78, more power to them.
"My mom, Sylvie Arend, flew out here from Toronto to watch me race. She's never seen me race in person and she is really impressed with the action and the facility here. She was surprised at how loud it was and she watched from the suites in Round 1 and really enjoyed herself. I think she's really proud of me and that's cool."
Holding onto his fleeting championship hopes, Ron Capps posted the best run of the day in his Brut Dodge Charger, a 4.812 at 323.50 mph, which moved him up to fourth place. That displaced teammate and fellow title hopeful Gary Scelzi to fifth with a best of 4.813 in his Mopar/Oakley Dodge. Currently third in the points, Robert Hight is ninth here with a 4.827 in his Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang.
Funny Car leader Tony Pedregon, who can only be caught if he fails to qualify for the event, is 12th with a 4.847 in his Q Horsepower Chevrolet Impala SS. There are 14 drivers capable of moving Pedregon down at this point.
While the big dogs in the Pro Stock Countdown to 1 battle for position and qualifying points, Stevens snuck by them all and into the No. 1 qualifying position with a 6.665 at 206.76 mph in his Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T. Stevens also was told by team owner Don Schumacher that his deal will carry on next year.
"So far, so good," Stevens said. "We've finally got this thing running good in qualifying. Now we need to translate that over to raceday. It's nice to go out there and throw a curveball at those guys in the top four. The reality is we're all trying to win traces, whether it's now or at the start of the year; every race is another chance to win.
"We never really got it together this year for long periods of time. When I was off the car was working good and when the car was off I was driving great. We're looking forward to carrying these strong performances from the end of this year over to 2008."
The points leader until the last race in Las Vegas, Dave Connolly came back to life Friday with a second-best 6.667 at 207.43 mph in the Torco/Seelye Wright Chevrolet Cobalt. Vegas winner Greg Anderson was next with a 6.673 at 207.02 mph in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO.
Stevens' teammate, Allen Johnson, is fifth with a 6.678 in his Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T, while Thursday leader Jeg Coughlin dropped to eighth in his Jegs.com Chevrolet Cobalt when he failed to improve on his Round 1 pass of 6.689.
Ellis's move to the top of the Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying sheet was important as it closes the gap between Ellis and No. 1 points earner Andrew Hines to less than two rounds of action. The rider of the Drag Specialties S&S Buell V-Twin has been low qualifier at the last four races in a row.
"One run a day makes for a long day," Ellis said. 
"I'm just glad to be here and glad to be No. 1 again. Yesterday we had the same motor in there from Las Vegas and it was a motor that was capable of winning. The only reason we didn't was because the rider screwed up and short-shifted in the final round. But we still didn't think it was our best motor so we switched it out and
"I just want to turn on win lights; the best thing is for me to race him early and try to take him out. I'm ready for this. I've never felt more ready to race in my life. The pressure is not on me, it's on Andrew. I'm second. He's the one that is expected to win. That's Larry Dixon's line but I'm stealing it because I like it."
Countdown to 1 participant Matt Smith made the biggest move of the day, coming from out of contention to the No. 2 spot overall on his Torco Buell. Thursday leader Angelle Sampey improved to a 6.973 at 188.94 mph but dropped to third on her U.S. Army Suzuki.
Hines and Peggy Llewellyn stayed in the mix with Hines running a 6.996 on his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod and Llewellyn a 7.003 on her Rush Racing Products Buell V-Twin.
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Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 43nd annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, final of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. J.R. Todd, 4.521 seconds, 328.22 mph; 2. David Baca, 4.523, 329.50; 3. Melanie Troxel, 4.525, 326.87; 4. Brandon Bernstein, 4.529, 329.83; 5. Doug Foley, 4.540, 330.72; 6. Bob Vandergriff, 4.543, 324.51; 7. Tony Schumacher, 4.544, 323.04; 8. Cory McClenathan, 4.566, 321.50; 9. Larry Dixon, 4.572, 323.50; 10. Hillary Will, 4.573, 328.94; 11. Doug Herbert, 4.574, 314.83; 12. David Grubnic, 4.574, 313.73; 13. Morgan Lucas, 4.576, 325.45; 14. Alan Bradshaw, 4.589, 324.36; 15. Doug Kalitta, 4.593, 322.96; 16. Scotty Cannon, 4.600, 317.64.
Not Qualified: 17. Joe Hartley, 4.608, 321.81; 18. Rod Fuller, 4.643, 265.85; 19. Clay Millican, 4.764, 320.66; 20. Mike Strasburg, 4.806, 241.84; 21. Urs Erbacher, 4.849, 297.88; 22. Steven Chrisman, 5.019, 287.11.
Funny Car -- 1. Jeff Arend, Chevy Impala, 4.781, 324.90; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.786, 320.89; 3. Kenny Bernstein, Charger, 4.804, 322.19; 4. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.812, 323.50; 5. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.813, 319.98; 6. Phil Burkart, Ford Mustang, 4.813, 319.98; 7. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.819, 322.27; 8. Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.819, 308.35; 9. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.827, 316.45; 10. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.831, 308.07; 11. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.840, 305.22; 12. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.847, 315.49; 13. Tommy Johnson Jr., Impala, 4.856, 318.62; 14. Jerry Toliver, Toyota Solara, 4.869, 320.36; 15. Scott Kalitta, Solara, 4.876, 323.12; 16. Grant Downing, Pontiac Firebird, 4.917, 286.19.
Not Qualified: 17. Bob Gilbertson, 4.959, 302.08; 18. Cruz Pedregon, 4.977, 303.64; 19. Jim Head, 5.008, 244.29; 20. Bob Bode, 5.067, 302.48; 21. James Day, 5.198, 265.90; 22. Mike Ashley, 5.205, 222.69; 23. Peter Russo, 5.799, 183.22; 24. Del Worsham, 7.384, 113.84; 25. Gary Densham, 8.199, 113.87; 26. Terry Haddock, 8.380, 109.14.
Pro Stock -- 1. Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 6.665, 206.76; 2. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.667, 207.43; 3. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.673, 207.18; 4. Jason Line, GTO, 6.675, 207.98; 5. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.678, 207.27; 6. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.679, 206.57; 7. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.682, 206.80; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.689, 207.82; 9. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.692, 206.73; 10. Max Naylor, Stratus, 6.692, 205.60; 11. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.694, 206.89; 12. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.695, 207.34; 13. Justin Humphreys, GTO, 6.699, 207.11; 14. Craig Hankinson, GTO, 6.705, 206.07; 15. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.710, 206.48; 16. Kenny Koretsky, Cobalt, 6.722, 205.72.
Not Qualified: 17. Jim Yates, 6.727, 205.41; 18. Mike Edwards, 6.732, 206.07; 19. Tom Hammonds, 6.737, 205.13; 20. Tommy Brown, 6.761, 205.38; 21. Ben Watson, 6.761, 204.11; 22. Gordie Rivera, 6.779, 202.64; 23. Todd Hoerner, 6.804, 204.57; 24. Bob Panella, 14.026, 62.24.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.965, 191.46; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.968, 189.76; 3. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.973, 190.40; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.995, 189.58; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.996, 190.75; 6. Peggy Llewellyn, Buell, 7.003, 188.10; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.015, 190.24; 8. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.033, 191.43; 9. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.035, 190.30; 10. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.035, 187.68; 11. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.035, 188.65; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.049, 188.89; 13. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.070, 187.36; 14. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.096, 189.39; 15. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.101, 187.68; 16. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.102, 183.92.
Not Qualified: 17. Mike Berry, 7.129, 185.51; 18. Michael Phillips, 7.145, 185.61; 19. Michael Ray, 7.170, 181.23; 20. Ryan Schnitz, 7.375, 178.76; 21. Freddie Camarena, 11.096, 73.36.
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THURSDAY - TODD, AREND AND SAMPEY ARE TOP QUALIFIERS AT AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS
Second-place Countdown contender Jeg Coughlin continued to fight for his fourth
NHRA POWERade Series world championship title Thursday by posting the quickest
Pro Stock run of opening 
day at the 43rd annual Auto Club of Southern California
NHRA Finals.
Coughlin, who earned Pro Stock crowns in 2000 and 2002,
joined J.R. Todd (Top Fuel), Jeff Arend (Funny Car), and Angelle Sampey (Pro
Stock Motorcycle) as the provisional qualifying leaders at historic Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona.
The Auto Club NHRA Finals is the second and final race
in the Countdown to 1, the two-race championship round of the NHRA
Playoffs.
A runner-up last weekend in Las Vegas, Coughlin remains in
control of a great hot rod as his Jegs.com Chevrolet Cobalt posted a 6.689 at
206.95 mph. Coughlin entered this weekend's race 34 points behind Greg Anderson,
so every point is important.
"The points are set up where we couldn't get
a round back on Greg in qualifying but we can get more than a round up on Dave
[Connolly] so they all count, certainly," Coughlin said. "It's just good to run
this well right out of the trailer and send the message we have a car to win the
race with us this weekend."
Anderson, who beat Coughlin in Vegas, isn't
giving up much in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO, running a second-best 6.690 at
207.18 mph. Connolly is 11th-best with a 6.713 at 206.76 mph in his Torco
Cobalt.
Todd would love to double-up at the birthplace of drag racing and
his opening 
pass of 4.521 at 328.22 mph in his Skull Shine dragster got him off
to a strong start. Todd has two low qualifiers this year, including one in late
September in Dallas.
"Hopefully we can play spoiler and help my buddy
Brandon (Bernstein) win the championship this year," Todd said. "I'm not worried
about next year. We have some big announcements coming real soon. I'm definitely
gonna be here racing next year in a Top Fuel dragster. Right now we're gonna
worry about finishing this year as strong as we can."
All four Countdown
to 1 racers are safely in the field. Brandon Bernstein is quickest in with a
4.529 at 329.83 mph, which is third best overall. Tony Schumacher follows in
sixth place with a 4.544 at 323.04 mph. Larry Dixon is eighth with a 4.572,
while points leader Rod Fuller shutoff early and carded a 15th-best 4.643 at
265.85 mph.
Local Funny Car racer Arend, who hails from nearby San Dimas,
is tops in his category with a 4.781 at 324.90 mph in his Checker Schuck's
Kragen Chevrolet Impala SS. Arend has been qualifying strong lately although he
only has one No. 1 qualifying effort to his credit from earlier this year in
Indy.
"We had an idea we could run in the 4.70s," Arend said. "It was a
little soft early but after that it was fine. It certainly agreed with what we
were trying to do. We're trying to do the best we can in my hometown here. I
live just a few miles from here."
The highest qualified Funny Car racer
in the Countdown to 1 chase is former champion Gary Scelzi, who is fourth with a
4.813 at 319.98 mph. Scelzi is second in the points, a distant 91 markers behind
Tony Pedregon. Ron Capps is fifth with a 4.845 at 322.42 mph, while Pedregon
(seventh at 4.864) and Robert Hight (eighth at 4.867) also earned top-half
slots.
By qualifying for this event, Pedregon will eliminate Capps from
championship contention.
Three-time Pomona winner Sampey is hoping to go
out with a bang, 
running her U.S. Army Suzuki through a track record 6.973 at
188.94 mph to take the early lead. Sampey is scrambling to find a new sponsor
after learning the Army wouldn't be back for 2008 so she was pleased with a
chance to meet with the media.
"I hope that I can hold onto it because
we're in the middle of finding a job for next year and we need every little bit
of publicity we can get," Sampey said. "The news (of her sponsor leaving) hit us
hard but it hasn't taken anything out of my determination to succeed. In fact,
it's only made me more determined to show everyone we're worth sponsoring. I
know we can still win races and championships and I want to show everyone
that."
Points leader Andrew Hines is third on the grid with a 6.996 at
189.71 mph on his Harley-Davidson. Chip Ellis, who is second to Hines in the
points, follows close behind in fourth place after a 7.010 at 188.46 mph on his
S&S Buell V-Twin. Peggy Llewellyn posted a seventh-best 7.061 at 186.20 mph.
Matt Smith didn't make it down the track under power Thursday.
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Results Thursday after the first one of four rounds of qualifying for the
43nd
annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona, final of
23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series. Qualifying will continue Friday for Sunday's
final
eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. J.R. Todd, 4.521 seconds, 328.22 mph; 2.
David Baca, 4.523, 329.18; 3.
Brandon Bernstein, 4.529, 329.83; 4. Doug
Foley, 4.540, 330.72; 5. Bob Vandergriff, 4.543, 324.51;
6. Tony Schumacher,
4.544, 323.04; 7. Cory McClenathan, 4.566, 321.50; 8. Larry Dixon,
4.572,
323.50; 9. Hillary Will, 4.573, 328.94; 10. David Grubnic, 4.574,
313.73; 11. Melanie Troxel,
4.579, 326.87; 12. Alan Bradshaw, 4.589, 323.27;
13. Scotty Cannon, 4.600, 317.64; 14. Joe Hartley,
4.608, 321.81; 15. Rod
Fuller, 4.643, 265.85; 16. Clay Millican, 4.764, 320.66. Not Qualified:
17.
Mike Strasburg, 4.806, 241.37; 18. Urs Erbacher, 4.849, 297.88; 19. Doug
Kalitta, 4.893, 219.90;
20. Doug Herbert, 7.508, 95.70; 21. Morgan Lucas,
10.941, 77.44; 22. Steven Chrisman, 12.864,
87.15.
Funny Car -- 1.
Jeff Arend, Chevy Impala, 4.781, 324.90; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge
Charger,
4.786, 320.89; 3. Kenny Bernstein, Charger, 4.804, 322.19; 4. Gary
Scelzi, Charger, 4.813, 319.98;
5. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.845, 322.42; 6. Phil
Burkart, Ford Mustang, 4.850, 319.98; 7. Tony
Pedregon, Impala, 4.864,
311.56; 8. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.867, 287.66; 9. Jerry Toliver,
Toyota
Solara, 4.869, 320.36; 10. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.872, 300.66; 11.
Bob Gilbertson, Chevy Monte
Carlo, 4.959, 302.08; 12. Bob Bode, Monte Carlo,
5.084, 265.12; 13. Tommy Johnson Jr., Impala,
6.301, 143.54; 14. Tony
Bartone, Monte Carlo, 6.855, 127.44; 15. Jim Head, Solara, 7.973, 100.40;
16.
Gary Densham, Impala, 8.199, 113.87. Not Qualified: 17. Cruz Pedregon, 8.330,
98.70; 18. Terry
Haddock, 8.515, 102.52; 19. Mike Ashley, 8.905, 94.86; 20.
Scott Kalitta, 9.605, 88.63; 21. Ashley
Force, 9.737, 86.35; 22. James Day,
broke; 23. Grant Downing, broke.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy
Cobalt, 6.689, 206.95; 2. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO,
6.690, 207.18; 3.
Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 6.694, 206.51; 4. Warren Johnson, GTO,
6.695,
207.24; 5. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.696, 206.23; 6. Justin Humphreys,
GTO, 6.699, 206.73; 7. Max
Naylor, Stratus, 6.704, 205.60; 8. Kurt Johnson,
Cobalt, 6.706, 206.73; 9. Larry Morgan, Stratus,
6.708, 205.85; 10. V.
Gaines, Stratus, 6.710, 205.88; 11. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.713, 206.76;
12.
Jason Line, GTO, 6.720, 207.05; 13. Kenny Koretsky, Cobalt, 6.722,
205.66; 14. Mike Edwards, GTO,
6.732, 205.26; 15. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt,
6.737, 205.13; 16. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.739, 205.98.
Not Qualified: 17. Jim
Yates, 6.752, 205.26; 18. Craig Hankinson, 6.760, 205.26; 19. Tommy
Brown,
6.761, 205.38; 20. Ben Watson, 6.761, 203.58; 21. Gordie Rivera,
6.822, 202.64; 22. Ron Krisher,
6.930, 204.73; 23. Todd Hoerner, 15.280,
78.45; 24. Bob Panella, broke.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Angelle Sampey,
Suzuki, 6.973, 188.94; 2. Eddie Krawiec,
Harley-Davidson, 6.995, 189.58; 3.
Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.996, 189.71; 4. Chip Ellis,
Buell, 7.010,
188.46; 5. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.035, 185.18; 6. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.052,
187.91;
7. Peggy Llewellyn, Buell, 7.061, 186.20; 8. Craig Treble, Suzuki,
7.070, 188.54; 9. Antron Brown,
Suzuki, 7.088, 184.40; 10. Matt Guidera,
Buell, 7.090, 184.62; 11. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.103,
185.36; 12. Steve
Johnson, Suzuki, 7.118, 176.21; 13. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.129, 185.51; 14.
Junior
Pippen, Buell, 7.153, 183.87; 15. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.156, 185.28;
16. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.158,
185.13. Not Qualified: 17. Michael Ray,
7.170, 181.23; 18. Michael Phillips, 7.202, 185.15; 19.
Ryan Schnitz, 7.423,
176.65; 20. Matt Smith, 9.141, 78.84; 21. Freddie Camarena, 11.096, 73.36.
THE STAGE IS SET FOR CLIMACTIC END TO FIRST-EVER NHRA PLAYOFF, THE COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP
AUTO CLUB RACEWAY HOSTS SECOND LEG OF TWO-RACE CHAMPIONSHIP
The inaugural season of the Countdown to the Championship has already had its share of “thrill-of-victory, agony-of-defeat” moments and there are sure to be at least a couple more next weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, in Southern California, site of the second and final leg of the championship round of the NHRA Playoffs, the Countdown to 1.
The Countdown to the Championship consists of a 17-race regular season that reduces the field of eligible championship contenders to eight, a four-race playoff that halves the field of contenders to four, and finally a two-race championship that determines the POWERade Series world champions.
The new NHRA Playoff has already delivered some “Instant Classic” moments, including most notably:
·Doug Herbert ending a 65-race winless streak at Reading, the last of the 17 regular season races, to move around three drivers — Cory McClenathan, Melanie Troxel and Dave Grubnic — to secure the eighth and final berth in the TF Countdown to 4;
·Peggy Llewellyn winning her first career race at Dallas, the last of the three first-round playoff races in Pro Stock Motorcycle, to move around Angelle Sampey and Craig Treble to secure the fourth and final berth in the PSM Countdown to 1;
·Gary Scelzi winning two of the four races in the Coundown to 4 – after facing a championship-ending DNQ on his final qualifying pass at each race – to enter the final stage in second place.
And amid those individual achievements were some of the most exciting racing the NHRA POWERade Series has ever seen.
The first round at Richmond, site of the fourth and final race in the Countdown to 4, the first round of the NHRA Playoffs, was regarded as one of the best rounds of racing in POWERade Series history.
It began in Top Fuel with Brandon Bernstein’s Budweiser team locking up the final berth in the TF Countdown to 1 with its heads-up win over Bob Vandergriff’s fifth-place UPS team.
Then in Funny Car, Mike Ashley was eliminated by Tim Wilkerson, but Jack Beckman, Ron Capps and Scelzi all won to set the table for a sensational series of must-win passes for Scelzi and Capps during the quarters and semis.
And in Pro Stock, Kurt Johnson beat Allen Johnson heads-up in the first round to give himself a chance to get around the Mopar driver for the fourth Countdown to 1 berth only to have Allen Johnson’s Mopar teammate, Richie Stevens Jr., eliminate him in the second round.
All of which sets the table now for the two-race championship round at Las Vegas (Oct. 28) and Pomona (Nov. 4) with both races being shown at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2HD.
The top four drivers entering the Countdown to 1 in each category have had their points reset in 10-point increments from 3,030 for first place to 3,000 for fourth place (points below reflect Las Vegas results).
[NOTE: Drivers earn 10 points for attempting to qualify, 1-8 points based on qualifying position and each round achieved in Sunday final eliminations is worth 20 points with a minimum of 20 going to first-round losers and a maximum of 100 going to the winner.]
