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NHRA POWERade Funny Car

Topeka - Final

FORCE WINS THIRD STRAIGHT RACE; HIGHT MOVES TO SECOND

John Force beat Tommy Johnson Jr. in the final round of the 17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Summer Nationals Sunday and, in the process, opened up a 127-point lead in his bid for a record 14th NHRA Funny Car Championship.

In winning for the third consecutive week, Force put together a solid series of 4.80 second quarter miles – 4.858, 4.806, 4.839 and 4.809.

The victory was the 118th of Force’s spectacular career and his eighth at Heartland Park-Topeka and, like the last two, it came after only a so-so qualifying performance. Starting his Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang only seventh in the 16-car lineup, the 12-time Auto Racing All-America selection took out Jeff Arend in round one, teammate Eric Medlen in round two and Ron Capps in the semifinals.

The race with Medlen was the only one that gave the veteran a scare. He won with a time of 4.806 seconds, the best of eliminations. Medlen, who had qualified second in the Castrol SYNTEC Mustang, trailed in 4.818 seconds.

It was the second time in his career that Force has won three races in three weeks; the 14th time he has won three consecutive NHRA tour events.

Robert Hight, who led the qualifying in the Team Castrol/Automobile Club of Southern California Ford, reached the semifinals before a loss of traction and a supercharger malfunction put him out against Johnson. Nevertheless, the runaway leader in the 2005 rookie-of-the-year race moved up to No. 2 in points behind his teammate, boss and father-in-law.

“Robert and Eric both had stronger cars than me today,” Force said, “but me and Coil and Bernie (crew chiefs Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly) have been doing this a long time. Against Eric, that was a close race. I was on oxygen before the round ‘cause these young kids, they go after you. We just barely beat him.”

JOHNSON JR. POWERS SKOAL RACING CHEVY TO RUNNER-UP FINISH AT TOPEKA

Tommy Johnson Jr. and Don Prudhomme’s Skoal RacingSM Funny Car team advanced to its second final round of the 2005 NHRA season Sunday at Heartland Park Topeka where Johnson posted a runner-up finish to drag racing legend John Force.

Johnson, who qualified fourth with a 4.796-second elapsed time, bested Phil Burkart, three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Gary Scelzi and 2005 Rookie of the Year front-runner Robert Hight before falling to Force in the final round at Heartland Park.

“It was a great day, not totally the performance we wanted, but we had a really good day for our team,” Johnson said. “We really need a day like this. This is probably the best day of driving that I’ve had in my career. As a driver, I covered all the aspects that they judge you on. I had great reaction times, kept the car in middle of the track, and won a pedal-fest. We had the entire package all day.”

Johnson opened the day with his best pass of eliminations when he drove his blue Monte Carlo to a holeshot victory over Burkart. Johnson, who leads the Funny Car category in average reaction time this season, used a .078 of-a-second reaction time to take the wire-to-wire win with a pass of 4.949 seconds at 312.71 mph. It was the veteran driver’s fifth career holeshot victory.

The Skoal Racing team used a consistent tune-up to race to a second-round win against Scelzi, who smoked the tires early in the run. Johnson posted another 4.9-second E.T., this time stopping the clocks in 4.987-seconds.

In the semifinals, the Iowa native took the early lead over No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight and in one of the wildest races of the day, Johnson pedaled his race car multiple times before the Skoal Racing car regained traction after nearly crossing the center line as Johnson powered to a performance of 8.773 at 196.64 to earn the victory. Hight’s flopper suffered a mechanical failure and coasted down track.

“Robert (Hight) and Jimmy Prock are as tough as they come out here right now,” Johnson said. “It smoked the tires when I hit the throttle. I saw Robert smoke the tires also, and pedaled the throttle. The car made a move to center line, so I knew I had to get away from the center line. I had to calm myself down and ease into the throttle again. I saw him with problems and eased into the throttle and after about five pedal-jobs it hooked up and we took the win.”

Johnson used a significant starting line advantage in the final round to race to the early lead over drag racing’s winningest all-time driver, but the Skoal Racing flopper lost traction and Johnson slowed to a pass of 8.167 at 107.62, while Force scored his 118th career NHRA win with a blistering run of 4.809 at 320.96

“We had nothing to lose, so I was ready to go for it,” Johnson said. “We were the underdog. I had a good feeling that something would come out of it. Things were going our way all day, but it wasn’t to be. They’re the best and had a great car today.

“We needed a good points day after struggling at the pas few races. I was determined to get back into this points chase and not lose sight of the top five. Even though we didn’t win, we come out of here with a lot of positives this weekend.”

Johnson’s runner-up finish moved him to seventh place in the Funny Car standings with 502 points. Johnson and company sit just 86 points from second place racer Hight. The next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event is the Eighth annual CARQUEST Auto Parts Nationals, June 9-12, at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.

SCELZI ADVANCES TO SECOND ROUND IN TOPEKA

Gary Scelzi and Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Funny Car crew chief Mike Neff were on their game this weekend at a hot and steamy Heartland Park Topeka, site of the ninth round of 23 events in the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals.

After reaching the final round in two of the last three races, it looked
like the team was back to the performance dominance here in Topeka that the
fans had grown to appreciate when Scelzi qualified No. 5, then dismissed
Tony Bartone in the first round of eliminations with a 4.839-second elapsed
time at 320.97 to Bartone's losing 5.087/292.46.

Next on the agenda was the second round, with lane choice against Tommy
Johnson Jr. Scelzi launched first off the line with a strong .064 reaction
time, although T.J. was close behind with a .066. But Scelzi was barely off
the line before the car struck the tires and coasted to an 11.529-second
pass at 77.08 mph. Johnson took the win with a 4.987/307.58.

"That was very unfortunate," said Scelzi, who was looking to carve John
Force's first-place advantage in the points standings after two of the other
close contenders for the championship were ousted in the first round. "Cruz
(Pedregon) went out, (Whit) Bazemore went out. We needed to match Force and
go around him and Robert Hight round-wise, but those two guys went on, so we
took one on the chin today. But we've taken them on the chin before, and
over the head and in the gut.

"We'll recover. We don't normally have things like that happen when it gets
hot. We've had a really good car in the heat, we've had a really good car in
the cold. We're just going to brush it off as just one of those unfortunate
things and load up and we'll see these guys again in Chicago."

Scelzi fell to third in points behind Force (winner today) and Hight, and is
just 12 points out of second.

Next up is the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., on June 10-12, 2005.

Wilkerson sees signs of promise

With many forms of racing going on today around the country to mark the Memorial Day weekend, Heartland Park Topeka hosted the most powerfully exciting race, the 17th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals.

Springfield, Ill. Funny Car pilot, Tim Wilkerson contributed to the excitement with a first-round win. Wilkerson easily sent Gary Densham to the trailer with a 4.862 at 320.81 mph over Densham's 5.334.

It was in the next round that Wilkerson's Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car ran into problems. Wilkerson could only muster an engine destroying 4.938 at 310.20 mph, which wasn't enough against Ron Capps' 4.850.

"On that first run it did just what I thought it would do," said Wilkerson, "and then on the second run it tried to knock the tire off of it so I pedaled it and then it smoked the tires toward the end. I saved it but once you pedal you lose a good tenth or so. It didn't like smoking the tires very much, because the engine beat itself into junk. It tore the camshaft all apart and busted a head. But all in all I'm pleased with the weekend because it is really showing me signs of promise. So, we'll take our junk home, I'll analyze everything and get it ready for Chicago and try again."

Tony Pedregon Drives to Second Round

Q Racing Nitro Funny Car driver Tony Pedregon moved his way to the second round of eliminations during today’s 17th annual O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

Hot and humid conditions made for a lot of smoke in Topeka. Pedregon had the second best reaction time of the round (.068 seconds), but spun the tires early and ran a 8.742 second elapsed time at 98.06 mph. Robert Hight clicked off a 4.871-second elapsed time at 311.85 mph.

“We spun the tires early in the second run of eliminations,” said Pedregon. “The car was giving us a short window of opportunity and we overpowered the track. We’re going to test in Chicago next and I am confident that Dickie Venables (Crew Chief) and the rest of the ‘Q’ Racing team will fix the problem. We’ll be ready to race the Route 66 Raceway.”

In the first round, Pedregon overpowered Del Worsham with a 4.837-second elapsed time at 323.35 mph to Worsham’s 4.860-second elapsed time at 319.98 mph.

Cruz Pedregon Falls in the First

Cruz Pedregon, driver of the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car, lost in the first round of eliminations during today’s 17th annual NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

With problems starting early in the pass, Pedregon gave contender Eric Medlen an ample advantage. The 1992 NHRA Funny Car World Champion logged a 5.301-second elapsed time at 237.5 mph, falling behind Medlen’s 4.827-second elapsed time at 322.34 mph.

“We gave it a good shot but came up a little short,” Pedregon said. “I felt the tires shake early in the pass and I had to get off the throttle and then back on, we even lost some traction. This has been an odd weekend for us because we have had a very good car during the last five or six races.”

The Advance Auto Parts team heads to Route 66 Raceway next to test and get the car ready for the upcoming race in Joliet, Ill.

“We will be testing in Chicago in two days,” explained Pedregon. “We’ll put in a few rides and get the glitch in the clutch/horsepower area worked out. With all the good work my team puts in and the support of our sponsors, we’ll have the car in top shape for the next race at Route 66 Raceway.”

Pedregon keeps place No. 4 in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series points with 539.

BAZEMORE HAS DISAPPOINTING RUN IN TOPEKA

Whit Bazemore's bad luck of the last several races continued today at Heartland Park Topeka, when he lost his fourth straight first-round Funny Car match-up of the year at the O'Reilly Summer Nationals.

As No. 6 qualifier he faced the No. 11 qualifier, his teammate Ron Capps, in what was expected to be an exciting race to the finish between the two fierce competitors and friendly rivals.

The pair's reaction times were nearly identical: .081 for Bazemore, .080 for Capps, but Bazemore's day ended early as the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus struck the tires and Bazemore lost his valiant attempt to win that round by slowing to an 8.047/111.09 pass. Capps lit up the win light with a 4.867/315.93 pass.

"We just went out and we smoked the tires and it's a frustrating situation and we're in a funk," said a disappointed Bazemore, who was the defending Funny Car champion here in Topeka, where he also won his first Funny Car race in 1997. "Our car has a mind of its own right now and doesn't respond well to (crew chief Lee) Beard's input.

"As a team, we have to pick ourselves up and fix our problems and go to the next race.

"Our team will be testing here at Heartland Park on Monday in an ongoing effort to increase our competitiveness and put ourselves back to where we know we belong."

Bazemore hangs on to fifth place in the Funny Car point standings, just 51 points out of second.

CAPPS TAKES BRUT DODGE TO SEMIS IN TOPEKA

Without the benefit of lane choice all day, Ron Capps ripped through the Funny Car field to reach the semifinal round today at the hot and humid O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

No. 11 qualifier Capps drove the Brut Dodge Stratus Funny Car straight into a semifinal round match-up against John Force after first defeating his teammate Whit Bazemore in the opening round with a 4.867/315.93 to Bazemore's tire-smoking 8.047/111.09, then disposing of Tim Wilkerson with a 4.850/316.60 to Wilkerson's 4.938/310.20.

This was Capps' and Force's fourth meeting of the season, including a semifinal match-up last weekend in Columbus, Ohio. Capps and crew chiefs Ed "Ace" McCulloch and Dan Olson knew they had a tough challenge in front of them, as Capps won only one of those contests, the first round in Las Vegas.

Capps had the edge at the starting light, with a .073 reaction time versus Force's .106, but the Brut Dodge quickly lost traction, slowing to an 11.927/85.85 pass, while Force thundered on to a 4.839/319.22 victory.

"The lanes were pretty even all day," said Capps. "We didn't have lane choice first couple of rounds, and to have run as well as we did was just a tribute to how hard the guys worked, and Ace and Olson making the right calls.

"We expected to go up there and have two lanes that were going to give both cars a good shot. Then we saw Tommy Johnson Jr. smoke the tires right in front of us right at the hit. I thought, Uh-oh.

"We made the calls we made to go up there and when Ace got up there and looked at the lane it wasn't good. So we just let the clutch out and hoped for the best. But, the Brut Dodge smoked the tires early, and Force ran a 4.83 next to us.

"All in all, considering how the weekend has kind of gone, we rose to the occasion on race day, no doubt about it. We went three rounds. And when you're having those bad weekends and things aren't exactly responding to what you want, going three rounds is good because when you're having a great weekend and everything is going good, you're going to go rounds.

"I think the Brut guys did a great job. We'll get a one-week break now, then there's three more in a row. We'll keep working at it, the POWERade points are going to come, and that's all you can do."

Capps holds on to sixth place in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points, just 73 out of second place.

Next up is the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., on June 10-12, 2005.

Densham out-distanced by Wilkerson

A quarter-mile doesn't seem like that long a
span, especially when you're piloting a racecar that routinely reaches
325 mph and covers that space from a standing start in 4.7 seconds. But
for Funny Car driver Gary Densham, the 1,320 feet of Heartland Park
Topeka seemed like an eternity, especially after his Racebricks.com
Chevrolet Monte Carlo started to spin its tires just after half-track
during his Round 1 race at the 17th annual O'Reilly Summer Nationals
presented by Castrol GTX.

Densham was well ahead of opponent Tim Wilkerson at the 660-foot
timers, thanks in large part to a gargantuan .036- to .127-second
reaction time advantage he gained at the starting line. But his giant
rear slicks couldn't hold the track after the transition from concrete
to asphalt and his chance at victory was lost when Wilkerson streaked
by for the win with a 4.862-second clocking.

Densham turned in a 4.5.334 at 212.63.

"Boy, it's heartbreaking when you're ahead of a guy and he gets around
you," Densham said. "I heard him coming and when the tires started
spinning I knew I'd see him fly by and that's exactly what happened. It
was a good race up until that point.

"We actually learned a lot in Round 1, even though it ended up being a
loss. The clutch repeated what it was supposed to do for the first time
and that's really exciting. We'll get this thing figured out soon
enough."

Densham and crew will now have a weekend off before heading to Chicago
for the eighth annual Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, slated for
June 9-12.

"Chicago is a bad-ass track where you can really pour the power to the
tune-up," Densham said. "That's what we love to do more than anything
else. The competition will be tough but we'll be ready to go."

Topeka - Saturday

BURKART HEADS INTO SUNDAY FROM LUCKY 13TH SPOT

Phil Burkart powered to a clean 4.951 in the heat of the afternoon here
on Saturday, then was unable to race during his final lap as his car
split an oil pressure line backing up from the burnout. His earlier
4.938 on Friday kept him in the No. 13 spot for race day.

"What a day, what a weird day," Burkart said. "The first lap was
really good, and we felt pretty excited about getting up there for the
final run. I think we all felt we could step up and improve a few
spots. We did the burnout, and while I was backing up I could see the
NHRA guys running out in front of me with mops. I knew something was
wrong, and when the guys got me stopped behind the finish line, the
first thing I saw was the signal to shut it off.

"We were paired up with Del (Worsham) and the red team, so I was
thinking that they'd really be razzing my guys for not making the lap,
and just then I heard Del's car shut down. That's something you don't
see every day, two team cars trying to run against each other and they
both shut off at the line. This particular oil line will do this sort
of thing. Del had it happen to him before round one at Brainerd last
year, so we know about it. Of course, you know the thing is just fine
during the warmup in the pit, it would never be nice enough to split
there. The way I see it, both CSK teams got their bad luck out of the
way in session four. We're ready for nothing but good stuff on
Sunday."

Burkart will face Tommy Johnson in round one.

WORSHAM STAYS 8TH THROUGH "INTERESTING DAY"

Del Worsham drove the red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car to a
solid 4.916 early on Saturday, then shut his car off prior to staging
during the final session. Adding to the dubious distinction of
shutting down prior to his run was the fact teammate Phil Burkart was
in the other lane, and he too was forced to shut off (with an oil
leak.) Worsham's problem was traced to a mechanical issue, and only a
driver of his experience would have sensed the problem and shut off to
avoid greater damage.

"The first run was great, almost exactly what we were looking for, and
the second one was, well, interesting," Worsham said. "We were
fourth-quickest in the first session, which is how you measure
yourself, and it was very clean and easy run. We went up there for
the final pass looking to do pretty much the same thing, just go to the
finish line and be near the front of the pack for that session. But,
as I was backing up from the burnout I could just tell something wasn't
right. It sounded sick or wounded, and though I wasn't sure what the
problem was I knew something was wrong.

"My dad and the crew were looking at me, wondering why I was pointing
at things. They were ready to send it, but they couldn't feel what I
could feel. I didn't want to blow the body off it and keep the guys
out here all night fixing stuff, so I shut it off. We got back to the
pit area and took it apart, and sure enough a small screw had dislodged
from the manifold and fell into cylinder number one, then it popped out
of there and jumped to number seven. When it got there, it banged
around until it closed the gap on both number seven spark plugs. Best
case scenario, if we would have run it, was that we would have been a
pooch on seven cylinders. Worst case, it hangs a valve open and we
blow the body 30-feet in the air. I'm glad I shut it off."

Worsham will face Tony Pedregon in round one. It will be a battle for
a spot in the POWERade Top Ten, at least as far as round one is
concerned. Pedregon currently sits 10th to Worsham's 11th spot, and
Worsham will enter round one only eight points behind Pedregon.
Barring further advancements from drivers further down the list, either
Worsham or Pedregon will leave Topeka in the Top Ten, based on who wins
round one.

Tony Pedregon To Start from No. 9 Spot

Tony Pedregon powered his Q Racing Nitro Funny Car to the 9th-qualifying position for tomorrow’s 17th running of the O’Reilly NHRA Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

Pedregon logged a 4.858-second elapsed time at 323.35 mph during the fourth and final session, setting up a first round match with No. 8 qualifier Del Worsham.

The California native talked about qualifying. “We feel we accomplished a lot today,” Pedregon said. “Our approach is to focus on consistency and all the processes necessary to assure solid runs. And it is reassuring that we got the car down the track three out of the four passes.”

“Our focus now is to reestablish what we think is the better set up of fuel/clutch combination for the ‘Q’ car,” Pedregon continued. “We’re being diligent and patient so we can achieve the consistency and performance necessary to strike a win.”

Cruz Pedregon Goes to Eliminations in Topeka

Cruz Pedregon, driver of the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car, grabbed the 15th spot in final qualifying for tomorrow’s 17th annual NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

Pedregon, who holds the fourth position in this year’s POWERade Drag Racing Series competition, raced the Topeka (Kan.) quarter mile in 4.981 seconds at 307.79 mph confirming his presence in Sunday’s elimination.

“We have struggled through qualifying,” said Pedregon. “Today I had trouble getting hold of the track, but Wes Cerny, (crew chief) made the right call for our last pass. We decided to run conservatively to make sure that we stayed in the field for tomorrow’s eliminations.”

“I’m confident about race day,” Pedregon added. “We have a solid car, and the Advance Auto Parts team has everything ready to put in a strong performance during elimination rounds.”

Pedregon will face off against qualifier No. 2, Eric Medlen, in round one of eliminations Sunday, May 29th at Heartland Park Topeka.

DENSHAM LOOKING FOR A ROUND WIN AND SMILES SUNDAY

Gary Densham is working overtime to be
prepared for the first round of eliminations at the O'Reilly NHRA
Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. That has been a common theme lately.

Densham drove his Racebricks Chevy Monte Carlo to the No. 14
qualifying position Saturday with a 4.949-second pass at 289.38 mph.
Densham is always happy to be qualified and racing on Sunday. He was,
however, hoping for better numbers going into the first round on
Sunday.

"Every time we experience something positive and the entire team
finally has a bunch of smiles, it seems like we get hit with something
to bring us back down again," Densham said. "This is a tough,
competitive business and you have to constantly make improvement to run
with the pack and win rounds.

"Right now we are doing everything we can to make sure we stay
positive. We hurt some more parts during Saturday's qualifying and that
just sets us back a bit."

If anyone can rally a team for a Sunday appearance, it's Densham.

"This team continues to amaze me with the way they work," Densham
said. "We were at the track for a long time Friday and to come right
back and put another long day in before Sunday is proof how willing
they are to win.

"I've said from the beginning that this is a new team and that we were
going to have some growing pains. We'll get through them. We've seen
some great things this season and there isn't any reason we can't keep
making positive improvements."

JOHNSON JR. DRIVES SKOAL RACING CHEVY TO NO. 4 POSITION AT TOPEKA

Tommy Johnson Jr. qualified his Skoal RacingSM Chevy flopper in the top half of the Funny Car order for the sixth time this season Saturday at Heartland Park Topeka after the Iowa native finished fourth in the 16-car order with a 4.796-second pass.

Johnson recorded his quickest run of qualifying under the Heartland Park lights on Friday evening when he blistered the H.P.T. quarter mile with a run of 4.796-seconds at 323.58 mph. Johnson’s fourth-place qualifying finish is his second best qualifying effort of the year. He qualified third at Atlanta earlier this month.

Johnson opened Saturday’s qualifying with a nice, conservative 4.923, 308.07 effort on a hot, sticky track. The Skoal Racing Chevy suffered a mechanical failure on its final qualifying attempt and dropped a cylinder early in the run forcing the six-time NHRA winner to shut off and coast to a run of 8.607 at 96.65. Johnson’s fourth place finish moved him to sixth place in the Skoal Showdown standings.

“We went down and made a nice run when the sun was out this afternoon,” Johnson said. “I’m confident with that and happy that we ran well then. The car was safe, so we can step on it even more on Sunday. We had a mechanical glitch in the ignition system on the last run. We’ll fix it and be ready for tomorrow. The No. 4 spot shows that we’re strong in qualifying and with that, we gained a position in the Skoal Showdown standings. Now, we’re looking to close in on the No. 5 position.”

Johnson will face veteran driver Phil Burkart Jr. in the first round of Funny Car eliminations on Sunday morning at Heartland Park. Johnson is 1-2 in his career against Burkart. In their only 2005 match-up, Johnson defeated Burkart in the final round of the season-opening Winternationals in February.

BAZEMORE HAS HICCUP IN FINAL SESSION, QUALIFIES SIXTH IN TOPEKA

Whit Bazemore and Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus Funny Car crew chief Lee Beard put together three excellent passes during qualifying for the O'Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, but failed to start the final session because of a starter problem.

The defending Topeka Funny Car champion ended up sixth in the field and will face his teammate Ron Capps in the first round of final eliminations on Sunday.

Bazemore posted a 4.847/317.19 in the first round, followed by a 4.806/316.90 in Friday's night session and a 4.922/307.79, before aborting the final run at the starting line.

"It's been an up and down weekend," said Bazemore. "It's been OK. We went down the track every time except in the last session, where we had a really freak situation with the starter motor and the batteries. We couldn't get the car to start, because one starter motor failed, and then it caused a problem with the battery pack.

"We were unable to make the last run, which was really unfortunate, because the conditions were good (a cloud cover came over because of an impending storm) and with the information that we learned from last night we all feel pretty confident that we could have run considerably better and improved our position in the field.

"But, as it is, sixth is not bad. It's in the top half, so we're not unhappy with the job that we've done so far."

SCELZI COLLECTS NO. 5 IN TOPEKA QUALIFYING

Gary Scelzi came on strong in the first three rounds of qualifying for the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka in the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Funny Car.

He grabbed No. 2 in the first round, with a 4.800/323.66 pass, and established an identical 4.800-second pass in the second session, at a slightly slower speed of 318.92 mph.

The third round produced the second quickest pass of the session for the three-time Top Fuel champion, a 4.844/313.15 run, which placed him fifth in the field.

However, an experiment in the final round failed to work for crew chief Mike Neff, and Scelzi lit the tires to an 11.648/78.57 lap. Scelzi held on to No. 5.

"Well, we were three for four," said the Fresno, Calif., native. "We had the second quickest run in the first (second of the weekend) run today. And we tried something a little different in the last round after we saw our teammate Ron Capps smoke the tires in front of us.

"We're good. We just tried something at the last minute and obviously it didn't work. We're fine, we're ready to go into race day - cold, hot, whatever it takes. We're ready to go."

Scelzi faces Tony Bartone in the first round of final eliminations on Sunday, whom he hasn't met in a round so far this season.

CAPPS NO. 11 IN TOPEKA FUNNY CAR FIELD

Ron Capps and the Brut Dodge Stratus Funny Car team made two of four good runs in qualifying for the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, taking the No. 11 spot after the completion of all rounds.

Capps clocked a sixth-place 4.878/314.75 lap in the first session and a 4.983/259.06 in the third. But a tire-smoking 11.493/76.90 in the night session and an 11.519/77.47 in the final round knocked him down to No. 11.

"Obviously the late session on Friday is where the conditions exist to run your best and we pulled the tires lose to try to run a low 4.70," he said. "Today the crew chiefs were pretty much thrown a lot of weird conditions. It was real hot out, but then a lot of cloud cover came in and it really cooled off.

"We didn't qualify where we wanted to, but, as I've said before, anytime it's Sunday morning and we're getting ready to fire up the Brut Dodge on the starting line, I have Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) in front me, as well as (co-crew chief Dan) Olson and the guys, I always feel like we have a shot.

"Unfortunately, we race our teammate Whit Bazemore in the first round. We'll just go up there and race the race track and forget that he's beside us and see what happens."

Wilkerson quickest and fastest of the day

Tim Wilkerson thrilled the fans today at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals by laying down the quickest and fastest Funny Car run of the day at Heartland Park Topeka. In the heat of the day, the Levi, Ray & Shoup Monte Carlo blistered down the track at 4.783 seconds. Wilkerson's speed of 324.59 was a career best for the Springfield, Ill. driver.

On the first run of the day, Wilkerson smoked the tires but it was on the second pass that he showed what his hot rod could do.

"We had a plan to see what the track would take on our first run," Wilkerson said. "It was really close to making it but it was a little over clutched and a little under motored. So, for the next round we put a little more motor in it and took out a lot of clutch. And it muddled right down through there, just like it was meant to be. It was a good run."

As the No. 3 qualifier, Wilkerson has lane choice over his opponent, Gary Densham in the first round of action tomorrow. This will be the first time the two will face off this year.

"We just need to keep the thing going tomorrow," said Wilkerson, "and who knows what the weather will bring. It's supposed to rain, so God only knows how it will run tomorrow. We have lane choice, but I really don't think it matters. The left lane may be a little smoother, but we just need to concentrate on going down the race track."

Topeka - Friday

DENSHAM IMPROVES IN SECOND SESSION

Gary Densham didn't have an easy week
coming into the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park
Topeka. But so far, he's making the best of the Memorial Day race
weekend.

Densham drove the Racebricks Chevy Monte Carlo to a 4.949-second pass
at 289.38 mph to take the No. 14 spot in qualifying after two sessions
Friday. The best part is that Densham shut the car off early, meaning
there is still some power left in the car.

"I shut the car off early but it still made a lot better run during
the second session," Densham said. "We made progress and that was the
best part of the day.

"Now we have some data to come back out here tomorrow and improve on
our run from tonight."

Densham experienced engine problems during the first round of Sunday's
eliminations at National Trail Raceway in Columbus. The body also
suffered damage, forcing Densham and the entire Racebricks crew to
hustle in the short amount of time between events just to be ready for
this weekend's event.

He also got a major boost from a new sponsor – Torco Race Fuels.

"This deal with Torco Race Fuels was just the shot in the arm we
needed," Densham said. "We couldn't be happier to welcome Torco on
board and we can't wait to bring them an NHRA victory. Everyone on this
crew, from [Racebricks CEO] Marty Yacoobian on down is just thrilled to
pieces. I was on a spending spree all day (Monday) ordering all the
parts on my wish list.

"Torco helped us get ready for this race and I'm happy we're qualified
so far and I'm anxious to come back out here tomorrow and improve on
the time."

JOHNSON JR. RACES TO THIRD QUALIFYING SPOT FRIDAY AT HEARTLAND PARK

Tommy Johnson Jr. blasted his Skoal Racing Chevy to the third quickest Funny Car elapsed time Friday at Heartland Park Topeka after the Iowa native powered to a performance of 4.796 seconds at 323.58 mph.

After rain showers delayed the start of qualifying, Johnson’s Don Prudhomme-owned Monte Carlo posted solid early incremental numbers before the car overpowered the track and coasted to a run of 5.071 seconds at 255.43. Johnson’s Skoal Racing crew made the proper adjustments and the six-time NHRA winner raced to the 4.796, 323.58 pass under the lights at H.P.T. to earn the provisional third qualifying position. Johnson’s best qualifying position of the season came earlier this month at Atlanta Dragway where he started from the No. 3 spot.

“We made some tuning changes on the car before this weekend,” Johnson said. “It was really nice to see the car come around and run that 4.79 on just the second pass since making the changes. Our goal is to make the car run like it did earlier this season. I’m confident that we can run quicker on Saturday.”

Johnson and the Skoal Racing team hope to improve upon Friday’s 4.796-second performance when nitro qualifying continues with sessions at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. (CT) on Saturday afternoon at Heartland Park.

Wilkerson sits out late night session

The all afternoon rain may have delayed today's racing action at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, but Tim Wilkerson didn't let that stop him from continuing the performance streak he began last week in Columbus. Wilkerson made a 4.815 second 319.82 mph run with the Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car, which put him in the No. 3 spot after the first qualifying session.

The second round of qualifying didn't begin until 10 PM, under cold conditions. And in an unusual turn of events, Wilkerson chose to sit out the late night pass. By the close of the night, Wilkerson's 4.81 held for the No. 6 spot.

"We decided to sit out the late session," explained Wilkerson, "mainly because of the weather. It's going to be in the 50's when they run and the track temperature is going to be in the 70's. Besides, for some reason she's been beating herself up every run. We put 20 pistons in her in the last three runs. And we just can't keep doing that, so we need to get to the bottom of the problem before we make more runs. And we're certainly not going to figure anything out when it's 50 degrees out. In between rounds, you don't have time to really figure things out instead in haste you just try something. So, I'm going to take the extra time and sit and stare at it, think about it and analyze it so it's fixed for tomorrow."

Topeka - Pre-race

DEFENDING TOPEKA CHAMPION BAZEMORE LOOKS TO THREE-PEAT AT HEARTLAND PARK

Whit Bazemore has a fondness for Heartland Park Topeka, where he won his first Funny Car race in 1997 and repeated last year from the No. 1 qualifying spot. He was also runner-up in 2003 and qualified No. 1 in 1999 as well.

When the POWERade Drag Racing Series arrives here this weekend, Bazemore and the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus R/T Funny Car team will be aiming for a three-peat and a return to the front of the point standings. Bazemore, who led three times this season while winning two events, has since dropped to fifth in the standings and is now 99 points behind leader John Force.

"Topeka is one of my favorite tracks and is the site of my first victory, in
1997," said Bazemore, who suffered a major setback after qualifying No. 1
and being upset in the first round of final eliminations in Columbus, Ohio,
last weekend. "Your first win is very special. You race for so long without
any success and you start to wonder if you truly have what it takes to win.
So when you get that first win, it means everything to you.

"Last year we were pretty strong at this point of the year and we won here
again and that was cool. But this year we're coming here with a whole
different set of circumstances. We really need to have a good showing. Our
Matco Tools Dodge has been hot and cold all year and we've managed to win with a cold car.

"We had a strong car in Columbus, which we demonstrated by qualifying No. 1, but we were just a little too conservative against Dale Creasy Jr. in that
first round, and he beat us. We can only work towards constant improvement
in the setup of the car and in my performance on the track."

BURKART HEADS FOR KANSAS

We all know the characters. There's a scarecrow in need of a brain, a tin man in search of a heart, as well as a lion lacking courage, and all three of them are bound for an alternate version of Kansas known as the Land Of Oz. Beginning this weekend, in the true land of Kansas, Phil Burkart will play a
little known fourth character, the Funny Car driver in search of a
break. Burkart fans can only hope his goal is attained, with or
without the help of the man behind the curtain.

On February 27th, in Phoenix, Burkart completed a semi-final finish at
the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Nationals and left the Valley Of The Sun
as the POWERade points leader. Since then, he and his team honestly
stumbled in Gainesville and dubiously earned themselves a DNQ, then
went to Houston where they qualified No. 2 and outran Tony Pedregon in
round one, but lost on a hole shot. Following that, it was on to Las
Vegas where Bob Gilbertson nipped the blue CSK team in a side-by-side
full length battle, before Burkart and his squad suffered the indignity
of "earning" a DNQ in Bristol when only one qualifying lap was
completed due to rain.

The frustration didn't end in Tennessee, as Team CSK then traveled to
Atlanta where Burkart again grabbed a top-half spot on the ladder, but
saw his race end in round one when Cruz Pedregon took the win as
Burkart smoked the tires. This past weekend, just when he was certain
the bad news had to end, Burkart suffered another nail-biting,
heartbreaking, loss. This one was perhaps the hardest to swallow, at
least since the hole-shot in Houston, as Ron Capps bested him in
Columbus after the two drivers stayed locked together in a virtual tie
from starting line to top end. It's enough to make a guy keep an eye
out for witches and flying monkeys.

"Don't say the word 'monkey'," Burkart said, with a laugh. "We've got
this monkey on our back and I said after Columbus that the monkey is
going down. Monkey or no monkey, it seems like I have to repeat the
same thing every week, and it's way past getting old. We are too good
for this to be happening and we're running too well. Everyone goes
through slumps, there's not a team out here that is immune to a rough
spell every now and then, but usually it's mechanical or you just get
temporarily lost on the tune-up. There's nothing wrong with our car,
and we're not lost on the tune-up. We just can't catch a break.

"So, the whole Kansas, Dorothy, and Toto deal does come to mind. If I
can find a yellow brick road at Heartland Park this weekend, you might
see me headed down it. Don't expect to see my skipping, but we're
definitely looking for whatever it's going to take to snap out of this.
Obviously, if we just keep doing what we've been doing, the thing has
to turn around."

Burkart is not the only frustrated driver on the tour, and he's not
even the only frustrated racer on Team CSK. His own teammate, Del
Worsham, is locked in a parallel skid of unprecedented unluckiness, but
the chemistry on both teams has yet to show any ill effects.

"We've won a lot of races over the past couple of years, seven between
our two teams last year, and it's not hard to have good chemistry when
you're winning," Burkart said. "When things start going against you,
that's when you see what you're made of. No one is happy about what
we're going through, we all are very frustrated and in disbelief, but
the attitudes on this team are outstanding. Everyone is pulling
together, and staying positive.

"I'm thrilled to be going to Heartland Park and to Topeka. It's
always been a great facility, and we're hearing that the new management
there has really gotten to work to upgrade the whole place. From what
I've heard, there's a lot of excitement in Topeka about what's going on
at the track, and that's fantastic.

"We always have fun in Topeka, and I always look forward to the race
there. In some of the markets we race in, the cities are so large
that we kind of get absorbed into the scenery, but in Topeka the annual
NHRA POWERade tour stop is a big deal. All the local businesses go
out of their way to welcome us, the local residents roll out the red
carpet, and it's all really exciting. Looks like Topeka will be the
perfect place for us to break out of this and start going rounds."

With or without the ruby slippers, little people with pointy shoes,
wicked witches and flying monkeys, Phil Burkart and his blue CSK team
are ready to meet their own Wizard of Oz. His name is Wally, and he
can be found in the Heartland Park Winner's Circle.

Oh, and one more thing: The monkey is going down.

WORSHAM REMAINS UPBEAT IN FACE OF ADVERSITY

Del Worsham appears to be anything but a guy riding a four race streak of nearly unimaginable misfortune. Stuck in the mire created by a plague of ridiculously close losses, Worsham has absolutely felt the psychological impact of the skid, but felt himself turn an emotional corner in Columbus, where a first round loss to Eric Medlen was decided by inches at well over 300 mph.

It was at that point, as he heard his crew tell him the elapsed times
on his helmet radio (4.842 for Medlen, 4.846 for Worsham,) that he felt
the weight begin to ease off his shoulders. He even allowed himself a
semi-sarcastic chuckle, as if to laugh in the face of whatever bad luck
demon seems to be riding along with him.

"At that moment, it really began to hit me that this whole thing had
taken on a life of its own, and I just couldn't let it take over my
life," Worsham said. "Believe me, if we had lost the last four races
in a row running horribly, making dumb mistakes, not getting down the
track, or making driving errors, you'd see a very depressed guy in a
Checker, Schuck's, Kragen uniform. But when you basically do what
you're trying to do, and the other guys still manage to win, you can't
let that get you down.

"It started in Houston, actually, when I really felt we were on our way
to winning that race, but we got nipped in the semi-final by inches,
even though it was our quickest lap of the whole weekend. Since then,
we've been nipped a lot. The only real mistake we've made in more
than a month was the first round in Atlanta, where we smoked the tires
because we were trying to break the streak by being aggressive.
Columbus just kind of put a cap on it. As far as I'm concerned, all we
have to do is keep plugging away like we've been doing, and good things
are going to happen."

Slumps manifest themselves in various ways throughout the professional
sports world, but all slumps tend to bring out the well-meaning experts
who have the answers. As opposed to the 20th century, when such
advice had to come in the form of written letters or face-to-face
conversations, today's electronic world provides instant access. Such
connectivity brings with it a new form of input.

"The emails started coming a few races ago," Worsham said. "Most of
it is real positive, people just telling us to hang in there and keep
working at it. A couple were pretty obnoxious, and I'm really not
sure what motivates a person to send an email, in all caps, just to
tell us he thinks we stink. That's not the way I was brought up, so I
don't understand it and I don't let it bother me. Some people have
advice, and that's all good. It means they care, and that's important
to us."

What's also important to Worsham is balance in his life. As the
popular driver has matured, he has come to value things other than
simply going fast. Racing is his career, and his passion, but he has
learned not to let on-track adversity overtake his happiness.

"You just can't, especially in a case like this where we're running so
well but just not getting the results," Worsham said "Between
Columbus and Topeka, my daughter Kate is staying on the road with my
dad and me in our motorcoach. This is Kate's first trip without her
sister and her mom. She's on the road with the men. She told me she
wanted to go bowling and she wanted to go to a baseball game, so that's
on the agenda. We're stopping in St. Louis on Tuesday night and we're
going to the Cardinals' game against the Pirates. Kate told me she's
going to cheer for the Cardinals, because she doesn't like Pirates.
She probably doesn't know what a Cardinal is, but she knows she doesn't
like Pirates.

"Columbus already seems like ancient history. The slate is clean,
we're completely upbeat, and we're on the road having fun with Kate.
She'll get to see her first baseball game, we'll eat some St.
Louis-style pizza, and we'll head for Topeka ready to rock. It's all
good."

With such resilience and such a positive outlook, it can't be anything
but good.

Arend enters 50th career NHRA Funny Car national event in Topeka

CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car driver Jeff Arend will make his 50th career NHRA start this weekend at the 17th annual O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas.

Arend rolls into Topeka after struggling with a tricky racing surface in Columbus last weekend, resulting non-qualifying effort. The 42-tear-old Canadian native, who reached the final round in Bristol just three races ago, is still within three round wins of the top 10 in the POWERade point standings. With a solid effort in Topeka, Arend could be right in thick of the points chase.

“Columbus was a very unusual race for the CMKXtreme Machine team,” said Arend as he prepared for his trip to Kansas. “We’ve had no problem getting the CMKXtreme Monte Carlo to run well most of the season, and I expect to be right back near the top of the pack in qualifying at Topeka. I would really love to celebrate my 50th start with a victory and I know that CMKX team has the talent and the potential to reach the winner’s circle on Sunday.”
Arend added a special thought, “Two of my good friends, Mike Barnett (aka Nitro Surfer) and Jeff Montante, both passed away in the last week. They were big drag racing fans and CMKX supporters and I know they’ll be watching over our team in Topeka.”

Arend will kick off the weekend by joining CMKX Racing teammate, Tony Bartone, on a visit to St. Francis Health Center in Topeka on Friday morning. They will visit with patients, signing autographs, posing for photos and handing out CMKX Racing merchandise.

Wilkerson ready for O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals

As the teams traveled from last weekend's race in Columbus, Ohio to this week's stop on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series tour at Heartland Park Topeka, Tim Wilkerson and his team were able to make a quick one day stop at the race shop in Springfield, Ill. The team took advantage of the day off from traveling to ready the Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car for 17th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals.

"We got a lot accomplished at the shop," Wilkerson explained. "It's amazing how much gets done when you have five guys running around. Normally most of the guys fly home after the race and so there's only a few of us at the shop. But a couple of them didn't go home and traveled with us, so we had extra help. Of course, we stood around and starred at it for a while, but we did manage to go over everything. We left the same motor in it because it looks pretty good. So, we'll make a few passes with it in Topeka. Big (John DeFilippis) worked on his blowers and Jeff (Jacobs) worked on the clutch, and they even got to do their laundry. So we are ready for Topeka."

Wilkerson has always shown his skills at Heartland Park. He usually enjoys a solid qualifying position, he has had a semifinal and a final-round appearance, and he had a win in his Top Alcohol Funny Car. Add in the fact that in Columbus, Wilkerson found some issues that have been plaguing him this season and has begun his quest to overcome them; and you may just have the formula to make the Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car a winner.

SCELZI IS TWEAKED ABOUT THE MOPAR/OAKLEY DODGE AND HIS NEW VISION

Gary Scelzi is totally tweaked about the performance of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T Funny Car in Columbus, Ohio, last weekend, as well as the new contact lenses he received there which he believes helped him with his reaction times.

He jumped from fifth into second in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings as runner-up there, and is just 80 points out of first place. The Fresno, Calif., native is ready to attack the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals this weekend at Heartland Park Topeka with the utmost confidence in not only his car but himself as well.

Scelzi nailed the starting lights in every round of final eliminations, with the exception of the final round against John Force, which he lost on a holeshot advantage. He's encouraged nonetheless and thanks Dr. Randy McLaughlin, Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at Ohio State University, for some of his newfound confidence.

Dr. McLaughlin is the primary vision consultant to the Ohio State University Athletic Department, which consists of 35 intercollegiate sports. OSU is known for its football teams and Dr. McLaughlin has been a consultant to Scelzi's sponsor Oakley regarding the design of its football shield.

"I had some concerns about my vision, which may have been affecting my reaction times," said Scelzi, the three-time Top Fuel champion who is seeking his first Funny Car crown. "So Paul LeSage (better known as 'Torch'), who works with Oakley's Mad Scientist Jim Jannard, suggested I visit Dr. McLaughlin, so I did.

"It turned out he was a drag-racing fan and a friend of Jannard's and he fitted me with these contact lenses and they really helped."

"During Gary¹s exam," said Dr. McLaughlin, who specializes in contact lens fitting and sports vision and has treated racing stars such as Danica Patrick and Bobby Rahal, "I detected a mixed astigmatic vision reduction in Gary¹s left eye, as well as a loss of focusing ability. Gary was fitted with a special hydrophilic toric contact lens to correct his vision problem in the left eye resulting in 20/15 visual acuity (better than 20/20!) in each eye. This also provided supreme fine depth perception
(stereopis)."

Dr. McLaughin came to National Trail Raceway for qualifying to see the results first-hand: "A professional drag racer must have the best-corrected vision providing the quickest reaction time," he said. "I rode with the crew to the end of the track while Gary laid down a 4.83 to qualify! You talk about nervous! Gary was fired up because his reaction time was great!"

With a hot rod that's a rocket and clear vision, Scelzi is more than pumped to get on the quarter-mile in Topeka, no matter the weather or track conditions. "We're aiming for the win. In the last three races we have been in two finals and we want to continue this roll we're on. It doesn't matter if it's going to be hot or cold, because we have a great combination.

"We did a lot of work on the car," he added, "but the truth of the matter is I got contacts and I can see a lot more clearly.

"We're excited about going to Topeka because the Mopar/Oakley Dodge runs good in the heat and it runs good in the cold. And Topeka has special meaning to me because it's where I broke the Top Fuel record for most wins in a season, which was six at the time (Cory McClenathan, 1998). I won No. 7 (of nine) there back in 2000," he said.

Scelzi has five Funny Car wins under his belt since joining the class in 2002, but has not won that class at Heartland Park Topeka. He was the Top Fuel winner in 2000 and runner-up in 1997.

With additional funding, Densham tickled about Topeka

Sponsorship dollars are the lifeblood of motorsports and Racebricks Chevrolet Monte Carlo Funny Car driver Gary Densham is riding a huge new wave into Heartland Park Topeka for this weekend's 17th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals after signing industry giant Torco Race Fuels as a major associate sponsor.

Densham, an eight-time winner on the POWERade Drag Racing Series and
defending champion of the U.S. Nationals, the most prestigious event in
drag racing, ventured back out on his own in 2005 after a four-year run
with the powerful John Force Racing camp. If there's one thing he
learned while being a part of JFR it's that sponsorship dollars are the
difference between contending and pretending.

"This is just the shot in the arm we needed," Densham said. "We
couldn't be happier to welcome Torco Race Fuels on board and we can't
wait to bring them an NHRA victory. Everyone on this crew, from
[Racebricks CEO] Marty Yacoobian on down is just thrilled to pieces.
I've been on a spending spree all day ordering all the parts on my wish
list.

"Evan Knoll (founder of Torco Race Fuels) decided a while back he
didn't want to dump all of his advertising budget into one team.
Instead he wanted to spread the wealth around and help out a bunch of
race teams. Luckily, we're one of those teams and, let me tell you,
it's been a big morale booster over here.

"These things don't run on cubic inches, they run on cubic dollars and
for us to get a 30-percent boost in our budget is absolutely huge. It
will allow us to not sweat every run that we're going to blow something
up we can't afford. Heck, we might even go and test now. The pressure
has definitely been relieved a great deal."

The new deal has Densham anxious to get to Topeka for this weekend's
race.

"Topeka's always been on my list of favorite places," said Densham, a
former schoolteacher from Bellflower, Calif. "The main reason for that
is the people in the community. They absolutely roll out the red carpet
for us and are genuinely happy we're there. Everyone has a smile on his
or her face and everyone goes out of their way to make you feel welcome
and make sure you're having fun. That's unique."

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

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Columbus - Sunday

FORCE CLAIMS 117TH TOUR VICTORY; EXTENDS POWERADE POINTS LEAD

John Force won a battle of drag racing icons in Sunday’s 41st annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals at National Trail Raceway and, in the process, opened up an 80-point lead in his drive toward a possible 14th NHRA Funny Car Championship.

In winning for the second consecutive week, Force drove the Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang past the Oakley Dodge of Gary Scelzi in a classic final round decided by just .008 of a second.
Force, who won for just the fourth time in 26 tries at National Trail, was clocked in 4.776 seconds at 324.51 mph; Scelzi in 4.764, 326.79 mph. It was Force’s first victory in four final round meetings with the three-time former NHRA Top Fuel Champion.

The win, just Force’s fourth at Columbus, enabled the 12-time Auto Racing All-America selection to extend to 15 the number of consecutive seasons in which he has won three or more NHRA tour events. He won earlier this year at Phoenix, Ariz., and Atlanta, Ga.

It was Force’s 183rd final round and 117th victory and it salvaged the day for Team Castrol which lost its other two threats in the second round. Scelzi took out No. 3 qualifier Robert Hight in the Team Castrol/Automobile Club of Southern California Ford and Eric Medlen and the Castrol SYNTEC Ford was ousted by Ron Capps.

That set up the possibility of an all-Dodge final between Capps and Scelzi, both of them driving for Don Schumacher Racing. However, Force took first one, then the other out with his two best times of the entire weekend.

BAZEMORE UPSET IN FIRST ROUND IN OHIO

It can never be said that any professional race car driver worth his salt takes winning for granted. That was certainly the case today in the first round of eliminations for the NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway, where No. 1 qualifier Whit Bazemore, was upset by No. 16 qualifier and part-time racer Dale Creasy Jr.

After Bazemore's impressive run during qualifying, where he established a track record elapsed time of 4.762 seconds, Bazemore and the Lee Beard-tuned Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus Funny Car team were hopeful for a return to the No. 1 spot in the POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings, a position Bazemore held after three of the seven races held so far this year.

But his 4.924/315.34 loss to Creasy's 4.904/311.99 pass dashed those hopes. Bazemore blamed himself and his .109 reaction time to Creasy's .096.

"You go up there, and anybody can win any given race and it's been done many, many times," said Bazemore, who is now fifth in the rankings, yet still very much in the points chase. "The way I look at it is when our Matco Tools Dodge doesn't run within a couple of hundredths (of a second) of the other car I should make up the difference and today we didn't do that.

"Everybody can argue their argument, but we were within 200 hundredths in performance and I didn't make up the difference. And we've been pretty good all year doing that and today I didn't. I'm particularly frustrated by the outcome.

"We've won quite a few rounds this year on holeshots. Today we didn't lose on a holeshot, but we didn't make up the difference in performance either.

"They (Creasy's team) ran only a 5.20 in qualifying. Our car was way too conservative for that run."

CAPPS' CONSISTENT PASSES IN BRUT CAR TAKE HIM TO SEMIFINALS IN OHIO

Even without lane choice the entire day of final eliminations for the NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway, Ron Capps and the Brut Dodge Funny Car team demonstrated that consistency can take you a long way in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series' Funny Car class.

No. 12 qualifier Capps first disposed of Phil Burkart Jr. in a very tight match by .0263 of a second, with a 4.862/318.92 pass to Burkart's losing 4.887/318.69. Eric Medlen was his next victim in the second round, when Capps out-performed the John Force teammate both at the starting light (.080 to .127) and on the track with a 4.814/322.04 to Medlen's wobbly 4.862/321.04.

The semifinal round against John Force, however, was Capps' denouement. Another consistent 4.826/320.20 lap was no match for the 13-time champion's stellar 4.773/323.50 pass. Capps had him at the starting line (.075 to .103), but didn't have enough to beat him at the finish line and lost by just 12 feet.

"Considering how the weekend went for us Friday and Saturday in qualifying today was a typical (crew chief) Ed McCulloch day for us. We struggled a little bit in qualifying, but when it comes to race day, I don't care where I'm at in the show. When I've got (co-crew chief Dan) Olson and McCulloch standing in front of me first round I feel like we can win at any time.

"We knew going in it was going to be a huge day for points. And we were on the opposite sides of the ladder to (teammate Gary) Scelzi as things were going.

"Up until the semis we just felt like this was going to be our time to get Force and hopefully get in a final round for Don Schumacher Racing, and get Scelzi in the final. That would have been a great thing. We just came up a little short."

"It was such a close race. I never saw Force until I pulled the 'chutes and he went flying by me with no 'chutes. I looked for my win light on the guardrail and it wasn't there. I knew it had to be a close race."

Force's parachute tangled and sent him into the sand at the end of the track. His car was not damaged.

"I try to keep these Brut guys motivated," added Capps, "and pat Ace on the butt and just say, Hey, we had a great weekend. And we did. And the best part is we have three races in four weeks coming up, and we have a great tune-up. Ace is really comfortable with the new clutch setup and the backup car. I'm very excited going to Topeka.

"We didn't have lane choice all day and we liked the right lane. The top-half qualifiers were choosing the left and Force wanted the left and we wanted the right.

"Early in the weekend there was a lot of complaining about the track and a lot of crew chiefs were very, very upset about how the track was. And you've got to give a lot of credit to the Safety Safari and the guys who stuck with it here and made this track what it was today, because it didn't matter which lane we had. To do that and have side-by-side Funny Cars running 4.80s and 4.70s is just a credit to those guys getting the track ready."

The Carlsbad, Calif., resident moves into sixth in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points, and is 60 points behind his teammate Whit Bazemore in fifth (443-503).

Capps' teammate Gary Scelzi reached the final round, but lost to John Force.

Wilkerson finds his consistency

Tim Wilkerson laid down two solid runs today at the 41st Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals showing that the Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car has returned to it's old familiar strong, consistent form. Wilkerson and his talented team are admired and respected for being a single car team that can take on and conquer the best, something that they have been struggling with this year. But after this weekend's performance, it appears the feared Monte Carlo is back

In the first round of action, Wilkerson and his opponent, Bob Gilbertson thrilled the fans with an exciting side-by-side drag race. Wilkerson emerged the victor with his 4.843 at 318.99 mph over Gilbertson's 4.863. In round two, Wilkerson stepped-up slightly running 4.848 at 320.74 mph, but fell victim to Cruz Pedregon's 4.796.

"It looks like we turned her around this weekend," said Wilkerson. "I'm a little proud that it went down the track today. That was my goal. We came back from the first round and knew we needed to go a little faster. So, I stood on it just a little bit, but the track got better and it stuck harder and went through the clutch. The whole inside of the car filled with clutch dust, so I knew it was going through the clutch hard.

"Last night I spent hours studying our data and discovered a pattern developing of how we got to where we are now and where we used to be. So, we started a new plan of action and we want to slowly creep up on it. We just need more laps under our belt. So I feel good about things for us as we head to Topeka."

MONKEY BUSINESS CONTINUES TO HAUNT BURKART AND CSK BLUE TEAM

Please excuse Phil Burkart if he starts sticking pins in a small
stuffed monkey. Any little edge would help Burkart and his Checker,
Schuck's, Kragen blue team keep their wits about them, as here in
Columbus they maintained a maddening streak of running fast, running
well, and coming up short with an infuriating primate metaphorically
still attached to their backs.

Burkart put a fine effort on the board in qualifying here, which was no
mean feat in and of itself. Friday's conditions were off the charts
and the nitro classes had no end of trouble attempting to negotiate the
quarter mile. The great Ohio fans sat bundled up in the grandstands,
fighting off the damp cold conditions, while the Funny Cars and Top
Fuel Dragsters stumbled, shook, rattled, and rolled, but rarely raced.
Only a small handful of Funny Cars made it down the track under the
lights (while not a single Top Fuel car was able to stake that claim)
and Burkart's CSK Toyota was one of them. His 4.817 put him deep in
the show and into the top half.

On Saturday, the sun came out, the temperature went up, and the track
loosened. Burkart and his team overshot the mark in their first
effort, smoking the tires, but as the day, and qualifying, came to an
end, the blue CSK car pounded out another strong effort, completing a
full pass at 4.930-seconds. The strong number from Friday landed
Burkart 5th, but it was the slower but competitive run on Saturday
afternoon that gave them confidence.

"When there's a session like that on Friday, those numbers are gaudy
but they're usually not relevant to what's going to happen on Sunday,"
Burkart said. "On Saturday afternoon, we were running under
conditions that were a lot more like what you expect to see on race
day, though probably a little worse. To put a good solid A-to-B on
the board then was as important as the big hit on Friday night. The
one on Friday got us in the top half, but the Saturday lap let us know
we were on target for Sunday."

In the crosshairs stood Ron Capps, who finished qualifying more than a
tenth of second behind Burkart, with a 4.925. Running right behind
Burkart's teammate, Del Worsham, the blue team had a front row seat to
evaluate how Sunday's conditions stacked up to the previous two days.
It was quickly obvious that the surroundings were different once
again, and very stout.

Trying to buck a team-wide, season-long, monkey-related trend of
displaying very strong performance while earning little more than
heartfelt handshakes, the blue CSK squad watched Worsham power to his
best lap of the weekend, as he streaked to an earth-pounding 4.846 next
to Eric Medlen. They also saw proof that the monkey had not yet been
dismissed, as Medlen posted a microscopically better 4.842 to trigger
the win light.

"From my perspective, in the car behind Medlen, I thought Del had him,"
Burkart said. "I was ready to pump my fist and let out scream, and
then I saw the lights flashing on Medlen's side. All I could think
was 'You gotta be kidding me,' but it was obviously no joke.

As Burkart and Capps sat strapped in, their teams fired their machines
and their particular battle was on. At the flash, the two drivers
left very quickly and almost identically, with Capps reacting in
.068-seconds compared to Burkart's .069 response. They left together,
stayed together, and paced each other almost perfectly to 1,000 feet.
With the two cars basically tied at every increment, this one simply
had to come down to the wire and how it went would be your first
indication as to whether Burkart and his bunch had knocked this
persistant freeloader off an entire program's collective shoulders.

The scoreboards told the story via illuminated white bulbs. Capps ran
4.862. Burkart ran 4.887. Monkey still intact.

"Once again, we have a lot to be proud of," Burkart said. "We had a
heck of a weekend here, under some of the most challenging conditions
we've ever seen. We were part of one of the greatest Sundays in Funny
Car history, with amazing races all day long. We made the right calls,
we did the right thing, and the driver even did okay. We just lost.
I'm telling you, this monkey is going down. One way or another, the
monkey gets it."

WORSHAM STAYS LUCKLESS IN COLUMBUS

As if some evil supernatural deejay is spinning the discs and
controlling the music, the hits just keep on comin' for Del Worsham and
his red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team, but these are not best sellers
and they'd absolutely rather hear a different tune. Once again,
Worsham did just about everything right. He made it interesting
during qualifying, but stepped up to a great lap on the final pass,
giving his team much needed momentum heading into eliminations. He
saved his best shot for last, posting his stoutest lap of the weekend
in round one on Sunday. And, you guessed it, he lost.

Following a rhapsody which has been dogging his team all year,
Worsham's weekend ended when he simply met up with an opponent who was
scant inches better, in a class where car lengths are more often the
difference. It was enough to make the popular California driver offer
a wry smile and slight shake of the head.

"What are you going to do?" Worsham asked, to everyone yet no one.
"It passed being unbelievable a few races ago. It's ridiculous now,
but we can't let this get us down. We have to stay determined, we
have to approach every lap knowing it's going to be the one to get us
out of this nonsense. If this is a character building exercise, we're
beginning to look pretty bulked up with character right about now."

Qualifying in Columbus was a test for everyone, as the air and track
conditions seemed to hit various extremes, session by session. On
Friday, the cool atmosphere and a tight track made it time to "shake,
rattle, and roll" and most teams were unable to do anything of worth.
To that end, Friday night's session might go on record as the single
most futile display in recent history, so much so that some Top Fuel
teams simply pulled out of line rather than even make an attempt. On
Saturday, the track was loosened up and the sun came out, putting many
teams over the edge in the other direction, with Worsham's gang falling
into that category with an early tire smoker on the first Saturday
pass.

"Friday night was bizarre, like hardly anything we've ever seen,"
Worsham said. "Basically, we analyzed it from every angle after we
tried to run on that track and we couldn't come up with any tune-up we
own that would have tamed those conditions. Saturday's first run
rolled around, and we missed the other way, smoking the tires. We
went into the last pass in 16th, but there were a couple of good cars
behind us so I just went up there as if we were out of the field and we
had to put down a good lap to get back in.

"As it turned out, the guys behind us didn't do it, so we were in the
field by the time we ran but we still had to have a good lap. We did
just that, and it really put us right back on target. As exciting and
dramatic as qualifying was, we were in good shape for round one and
confident we knew where we were."

Where they were was paired up with Eric Medlen, running as the third
pair on Sunday under yet another set of conditions. Tighter than on
Saturday, the track also had the sun on it prior to round one but then
cooled with rapidly approaching cloud cover. All in all, the
conditions on Sunday were easily the best of the weekend, if not the
best of the year.

Worsham and Medlen each hit the throttle at the flash of amber, with
Medlen getting a jump at the tree. They streaked down the track,
locked together in a side-by-side grudge match, neither giving an inch.
When the scoreboards flashed, they looked something like this:

Medlen
4.842

Worsham
4.846

Margin of victory: Too close, too frustrating, too everything.

"After two days of not being able to give these great fans much to
watch, including the night session on Friday when we really basically
gave them nothing at all to see, we had one of the greatest Sundays
ever out here," Worsham said. "Nearly every race was close, fast, and
very exciting. It was all great, but someone has to lose in all those
heartbreakers. We weren't alone, obviously, people got their hearts
broken almost every pair, every round, but we just can't seem to get
away from this beast."

Maybe that deejay will find a new disc to spin next weekend, as the
tour heads to Topeka. "Del Worsham's Greatest Hits" would be popular
request.

Consistency is Key for Cruz Pedregon

Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car are rounding into championship form, driving to his third-straight semifinal during this weekend’s 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

In one of the closest matches of the day, Pedregon was barely edged at the stripe in the semifinal by Gary Scelzi. Pedregon, the 1992 NHRA Funny Car World Champion, logged a 4.812-second elapsed time at 324.36 mph, but it wasn’t enough for Scelzi’s 4.811-second pass at 322.65 mph.

“We’re disappointed but we made it to another semifinal,” Pedregon said. “To be in the semifinals again is really good for this team. The car ran flawlessly today, but we did give up a little in the middle of the track against Scelzi – that was the difference in the race.

“We’re also putting up good speed numbers now as well,” Pedregon continued. “I can’t wait to race in Topeka in a few more days and I’m excited that we keep racking up the points. We’ve gained a little on the top guys, so we need to keep it going.”

Pedregon posted a 4.828-second elapsed time at 317.12 mph in his round one victory over Tommy Johnson, Jr. The close racing continued in round two, as Pedregon edged out Tim Wilkerson with a 4.796-second pass 324.67 mph. Wilkerson clocked in with a slower 4.848/320.74 combination.

“To be right in the middle with the level of competition we have now is pretty exciting,” Pedregon said. “To be in these battles week in and week out is a real testament to the team and how hard they worked over the winter.”

Pedregon is only one behind Robert Hight for third in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series points.

Bartone goes out early at the Pontiac Performance Nationals

Tony Bartone made an early exit during Sunday’s eliminations at the 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals in Ohio. The driver of the Jim Dunn Racing/Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car lost to John Force in round one after a strong qualifying effort on Saturday.

The weather was partly cloudy and cool as eliminations began at National Trail Raceway Sunday morning. Bartone entered the day in the No. 9 qualifying position after making his quickest run of the season with a 4.874 at 315.56 mph. Force had lane choice over Bartone by a mere three-hundredths of a second.

Force had a slight lead off the starting line and extended it to the finish, taking the victory with a 4.840 at 318.39 mph to Bartone’s 4.937 at 316.15 mph.

“I think we had a great qualifying effort,” said Bartone, “we were right in the middle of the pack. We just needed to run a little stronger in the first round. The Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil team does a great job and we’ll continue work hard. I look forward to going some rounds next weekend in Topeka.”

Densham detonates in first-round disappointment

It was a crazy weekend for Racebricks Chevrolet
Monte Carlo Funny car driver Gary Densham at the 41st annual Pontiac
Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing. The former
schoolteacher from Bellflower, Calif., was on a definite high after
qualifying with his fastest pass of the year and counting himself among
one of only seven drivers to even traverse National Trail Raceway on a
cooler-than-expected Friday afternoon.

Then, when the sun came out and totally changed the racing surface
during Saturday's final two qualifying sessions, Densham watched as car
after car managed to get around him on the qualifying sheet while he
simply overpowered the racetrack.

Nevertheless, Densham's Racebricks team, which is populated by his
former students, were optimistic as their man lined up against Robert
Hight in Sunday's first round. As it turns out, they had every reason
to be pumped up as Densham left the starting line first by a sizable
two hundredths of a second and led for the first half of the quarter
mile. But then the supercharger blew unexpectedly and Densham could
only watch as Hight zipped around him for the victory.

"I never saw him and never heard him so I knew I was out front,"
Densham said if his rookie rival. "Then kaboom, the blower let go. My
car decelerated so fast my head would have hit the dashboard if I
wasn't strapped in. That's just such a helpless feeling to watch
someone drive past you and you're car is just dead in the water.

"That's a great team over there. I know because that was my team for
the last four years. I love those guys but I wanted to whup 'em today."

Densham and Co. will have to thrash to get their car repaired and back
together in time for next weekend's O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in
Topeka, Kan.

"If the blower is really badly damaged we're in trouble," Densham said.
"We might not get any sleep this week. But we'll be there ready for the
fight."

JOHNSON JR. DRIVES TO FIRST-ROUND PERFORMANCE AT COLUMBUS

Tommy Johnson Jr., a six-time NHRA winner, raced his Skoal RacingSM Chevy Funny Car to a first-round finish Sunday at National Trail Raceway.

Johnson, who qualified 10th at the historic Ohio drag strip, used the best reaction time of the first-round of flopper eliminations (.051 of-a-second) to take the early lead over first round opponent Cruz Pedregon. Johnson, who scored the win at the season-opening Winternationals, powered to a run of 4.909 seconds at 304.25 mph, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Pedregon’s pass of 4.828 at 317.12 mph as the fellow Chevy driver earned the trip to round two.

“It was a tough weekend for us,” Johnson said. “We struggled with the combination at this track. We just couldn’t find a happy medium. The car was either too aggressive or too soft. On today’s run, it was too soft. It’s a work in progress, but we’ll turn it around. It’s a long season, we’ll be ok.”

Columbus - Saturday

BAZEMORE COLLECTS HIS FIRST NO. 1 OF THE YEAR IN OHIO

Whit Bazemore went against all odds in last night's qualifying session by claiming No. 1 and setting a track record in qualifying with the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus, while the rest of the Funny Car and Top Fuel cars struggled to get down the track.

As conditions warmed for today's final two qualifying sessions, Bazemore was able to hold onto his No. 1 spot, collecting his 29th career No. 1 and first of the 2005 season, based on the 4.762-second pass at 322.34 mph from last night. He also holds on to the track speed record he set in 2004, of 325.92 mph.

"Qualifying No. 1 is special when you consider the type of season we've had, and the fact that we struggled somewhat with our Matco Tools Dodge this year," said Bazemore, who has won twice, from both the eighth and 12th positions.

"Lee Beard and the Matco Tools team worked really hard to get us back on track, especially when we tested at Bristol Dragway on Monday after the race and we made a number of strong runs. Hopefully we will be able to look back at Atlanta (last weekend's race) and say that that event was the turning point for us and that's what motivated us to come here and get our car going in the right direction.

"We're still finding our way. We've been so hot and cold this year. It's basically a fairly new tune-up in the car and Beard is still finding his way with it.

"Having said that, it was really a good run to learn where we can go and where we can't go."

As for the track conditions, "I don't know what the problems were yesterday. It was good for us, but we shook too. We were fortunate to get down the track."

Bazemore faces Dale Creasy Jr. in the first round of final eliminations on Sunday, which begin at 11 a.m.

JOHNSON JR. DRIVES TO 10TH QUALIFYING POSITION AT COLUMBUS

Tommy Johnson Jr. powered his blue Skoal RacingSM Chevy Funny Car to the 10th qualifying position Saturday at National Trail Raceway following a pass of 4.912 seconds at 314.68 mph.

After the six-time NHRA winner and his veteran race team battled a difficult National Trail Raceway quarter mile on Friday, Johnson and his Mike Green-led crew opened the day with Johnson powering his Chevy flopper to a performance of 4.912 seconds at 314.68 mph under the sunny Ohio skies. The 4.912-second effort was good enough to claim the 10th qualifying position. Johnson’s Funny Car overpowered the race track on its final qualifying pass.

“We made a good run in the heat of the day,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t as quite as quick as we had hoped for, but it got us in the show. We tried to improve on the second pass, but we had some excessive clutch-ware that caused us to smoke the tires. I’m confident that we’ll hit it on the money on Sunday. My only concern is the weather.”

Johnson will face veteran Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon, who qualified seventh, in the first round of flopper eliminations scheduled for 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday. Johnson has a 6-2 career mark against C. Pedregon.

SCELZI HAS AN AIR OF CONFIDENCE AFTER QUALIFYING SIXTH IN OHIO

Gary Scelzi has a renewed air of confidence after qualifying the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Funny Car No. 6 today for the NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway, despite a 5.495/183.42 pass in the final qualifying session.

After struggling to get into the field in the first two attempts, the 4.833-second elapsed time at 320.13 mph he posted in the third session was the third quickest of the round and placed him solidly into No. 6 for final eliminations.

"Excellent," he said after the final run. "We wanted to see where we could go. And it's very close right there. We're OK. I'm pleased. The Mopar/Oakley Dodge is reacting good at 60 ft. We're ready for tomorrow. It's the best I've felt all year long.

"I was nervous about not qualifying early on, because this is a different combination that we're running. It's something new that we tried in Vegas that we hadn't been able to run as of yet because of the weather and Mike (Neff, crew chief) made the commitment to run it. And it's looking good.

"We don't want to be too excited, but it looks pretty raceable for tomorrow, absolutely."

Cruz Pedregon Locks Up Seventh Qualifying Spot

Cruz Pedregon, driver of the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car, grabbed the seventh spot following final qualifying for tomorrow’s 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

Pedregon, who currently sits fourth in this year’s POWERade Drag Racing Series points tussle, lapped the suburban Columbus (Ohio) quarter mile in 4.841 seconds at 317.42 mph. He talked about his weekend of qualifying.

“We qualified a little higher than we have in a while, so I’m happy about that,” Pedregon said. “We had a few troubles today getting down the track, but (Crew Chief) Wes Cerny and the team are working on our set up for tomorrow.

“I’m pretty confident going in,” Pedregon added. “This team has done a great job on race day. I know Wes will look over the data and have the car ready to go.”

Pedregon will face off against Tommy Johnson, Jr., in round one of eliminations.

Worsham Pushes It To The Edge, Then Steps Up

After rain and cool temperatures handed the racers one set of
parameters on Friday, a bright sun and consistently rising temperatures
threw another set of hurdles in the way on Saturday, and the afternoon
was full of drama. For Del Worsham, and his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen
red team, a first lap tire smoker left them clinging to the No. 16 spot
heading into the final session, with Jeff Arend, Jim Head, and Jack
Wyatt all outside the field and taking aim at that final perch in the
field.

Wyatt was a no-show in the final session, Head smoked the tires, and
Arend crossed the center line, so by the time Worsham ran he knew he
was a lock for the race field. Not content with that, he then
proceeded to crank out a 4.926 in the heat, jumping up to the No. 13
spot on the ladder.

"That was way more thrilling than we wanted it or needed it to be,"
Worsham said. "Like most guys, we were underpowered last night on
that tight track, but this morning we were over-center the other way.
Not only did the air change, but they did enough work on the starting
line area that it changed completely too. So, when you go into the
last one 16th, you play that like you're out of the show because you
have to assume at least one guy will knock you out. We had the deal
bracketed, but how far off were we? We knew we were way far off on
Friday night, in one direction, and we were way far off on the first
Saturday pass in the other direction. The answer was somewhere in
between.

"We were pretty calm going up there, actually. Maybe after all these
years, you just get to a point where you know you're doing your best
and there's not much more you can do about it. It was going to be
what it was going to be. In the end, we went right down there and I
think we're entering Sunday in pretty good shape. A lot of the teams
ahead of us on the sheet didn't make it on that lap, and we did just
what we wanted to do, so I'm feeling pretty good about what we can do."

Worsham will face No. 4 qualifier Eric Medlen in round one.

CAPPS DEALS WITH TRICKY TRACK, QUALIFIES NO. 12 IN OHIO

Ron Capps dealt with a tricky drag strip at National Trail Raceway today to qualify No. 12 in the Brut Dodge Stratus Funny Car after four rounds of qualifying for the NHRA Nationals, the eighth round of the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

The first two rounds on Friday were less than spectacular, including a 9.374/89.02 and a 6.149/197.94 pass. Today's third session, under sunny but cool conditions, resulted in a 4.925/310.84, which held through the next round (5.496/183.42) for No. 12.

"It was a tricky weekend," said Capps. "Making that one shot this morning was the key. We really went after it, we wanted to get up to the top five in the last shot.

"I can't fault Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) and (co-crew chief Dan) Olson at all for wanting to do that. We didn't want to be in the bottom half of the field, but the track's been tricky. And both lanes have been tricky so we didn't accomplish that and we don't have lane choice tomorrow.

"There are a lot of great match-ups in the first round . Points-wise, there's going to be some interesting match-ups, so we just have to keep our head to the grindstone, focus, go rounds, race the track, and every other cliche that applies."

Did the track improve today? "I think the crew chiefs just got more of a handle on it. It's very tricky. It's got spots that are pretty good and then right after that there's a spot not so good, and another spot that's OK. It's hard to get these cars to go that quick down this track."

Capps faces Phil Burkart Jr. in the first round of eliminations, which begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Other interesting match-ups include Eric Medlen and Del Worsham; Gary Scelzi and Tony Pedregon; and John Force and Tony Bartone.

Bartone blasts into the Funny Car field in Ohio

Tony Bartone drove the Jim Dunn Racing/Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car to his quickest run of the season on Saturday to qualify for the 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway in Ohio.

After struggling with cold, wet weather and a tricky racing surface that plagued almost everyone on Friday, Bartone and the Got CMKX/Lucas Oil Funny Car entered Saturday’s final pair of professional qualifying sessions in the No. 18 position.

Crew chief Jim Dunn and the team were confident as they rolled to the starting line for their third run of the weekend. Bartone blasted down the National Trail Raceway quarter-mile with his quickest run of the year, a 4.874 at 315.56 mph, to leap into the top half of the field in the No. 8 spot.

The New York native followed up his first run on Saturday with another solid run later in the afternoon, a 4.972 at 310.13 mph. The Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car dropped one spot in the final qualifying order to the No. 9 position. Bartone will square off against John Force in round one for their sixth career meeting.

“The track was green and very tricky on Friday and the Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil team wasn’t the only one that had troubled getting from A to B,” said Bartone. “Today crew chief Jim Dunn came up with a solid tune up and we made a good showing for the CMKX fans with our quickest run of the season.”

Tony Pedregon Moves Into the 11th Qualifying Position

Tony Pedregon wielded his Q Racing Nitro Funny Car to the 11th-qualifying position for tomorrow’s 41st running of the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

Pedregon logged a 4.912-second elapsed time at 272.56 mph during the fourth and final session, setting up a round one match with No. 6 qualifier Gary Scelzi. The California native relayed his thoughts.

“We’re pleased that we moved up in the qualifying order,” Pedregon said. “We still haven’t made a complete run this weekend, but we had a lot better runs today. We know we have a lot of power, but it’s a matter of getting it to the track.

“We were capable of a mid-4.80 during that last run,” Pedregon continued. “So I’m encouraged with how the car has reacted. It’s a much better race car now and I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do on race day.”

Densham looking to turn the tide in Columbus

Gary Densham has to stop meeting the new guy like this. Densham will again face rookie Funny Car driver Robert Hight in the first round of eliminations Sunday at the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

Densham drove the Racebricks Chevy Monte Carlo to the No. 14 spot,
turning in a 4.946-second pass at 315.49 mph. Hight took the No. 3
position with a 4.786 at 322.50. They faced each other earlier this
season at Las Vegas. Hight took the win and the 1-0 lead in the
head-to-head series.

"There are just some drivers that you feel like you are always racing,"
Densham said. "Hopefully we can have a little fun tomorrow and make
this matchup interesting and even it up."

Densham made the quickest run of the qualifying rounds on Friday when
few cars made it down the track. He was able to experiment with a few
things on Saturday because they were already qualified.

"We ran our best speed so far and we're starting to get a better handle
on the motor," Densham said. "The track was a little tricky and the
good thing was that we made a good run to begin with and we were able
to make some adjustments on the next couple of runs.

"The hope is that we learned from our mistakes today so we can win
tomorrow."

Columbus - Friday

BAZEMORE LOW QUALIFER FRIDAY NIGHT IN OHIO

Whit Bazemore was Funny Car low qualifier today on a cool evening at National Trail Raceway, outside of Columbus, Ohio, setting a track elapsed-time record of 4.762 seconds at 322.34 mph.

His first round of qualifying today produced a 4.948/308.78, which was good for No. 11.

Two more qualifying rounds are scheduled for Saturday before final eliminations begin for round 8 of the 23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

"It's a real good start for the weekend," said the driver of the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus R/T Funny Car, who hasn't qualified No. 1 all season (two No. 8s, two No. 12s, and one No. 14), but has won twice and led the Funny Car point standings. Following last weekend's race in Atlanta, he is second in the rankings, 24 points behind John Force.

"Our team hasn't qualified that well all year, so hopefully it's not a jinx. We've done fairly well. We're second in the championship, and we've won two races, but all from qualifying eighth and 12th.

"Hopefully, if we can stay low tomorrow it won't be a jinx. It's what our team's needed. We've worked really hard trying to right our ship and eventually hard work pays off. Qualifying is a tribute to our Matco Tools team. It's (crew chief) Lee Beard making the right call, it's the guys doing a perfect job, and here we are.

"It was close. It almost didn't make it. It rattled pretty hard out there and that's what a lot of guys did - shook the tires first round and tonight. He had the tune-up right, I didn't crash it, and we went down the track and ran a .76.

"It felt good to run that quick, because we hadn't done that in quite a while."

Cruz Pedregon Makes Solid Opening Statement

Cruz Pedregon, driver of the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car, opened this weekend’s Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway with a solid sixth-place effort.

After struggling on the first pass, Pedregon laid down a 4.841-second elapsed time at 317.42 mph in the nightcap. Despite the unpre