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NHRA POWERade Top Fuel

CHICAGO - Pre-Race

LUCAS EYES ‘W’ AT ROUTE 66 RACEWAY

(6-7-2005) - Lucas Oil Top Fuel driver, Morgan Lucas is making a move among the Top Fuel title contenders and at this week’s CarQuest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway his plans are to make up even more ground than he did at the Topeka race two weeks ago.

After slicing 39 points off current front-runner Doug Kalitta’s lead with his fifth semi-final round finish of the season, Lucas feels there is even more to accomplish. Entering this weekend’s action, he is fifth in the standings and only 143 points out of the lead, a margin that he knows is attainable, but only with consistent results.

“We just have to keep making rounds,” said a determined Lucas. “That’s what the championship is based off of. We need to increase our winning percentage. We hope we can become the NHRA’s next first-time winner and Chicago would be a perfect place for that to happen.

“Last year I was nervous and intimidated by it all. Now with more races under my belt, I can’t wait to get back to Route 66 Raceway. It’s a great racetrack that has great traction along with a great facility. This would be good time for us to hit a racing hot streak that could turn the season around and Route 66 could be just the ticket to pave our way. As long as we keep our team in championship contention and stay in the points chase, then we can see the potential is there and from that point on that’s what we have to do to be title contenders

The Lucas Oil - Joe Amato owned team is ready to step up their program and make Morgan Lucas the NHRA’s newest winner. He has reached the final round three times in only 17 career races, but has come up shy thus far in the money round. With the Chicagoland-based track displaying unbelievable grip, this weekend could be a life changing experience for the 21-year old Riverside, Ca resident.

“Wayne (Dupuy, crew chief) is making more power than he ever has before,” said Lucas. “He’s a magician with this car. I’m confident about the way we’ll run and that we’ll be fine going into this race. It would be nice to get a ‘W’ for the guys at Route 66 -hopefully everything will work out fine."

Qualifying for the CarQuest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals starts on Friday, June 10 with sessions at 4:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday’s sessions are on the schedule to run at 12:30 and 4 p.m. with Sunday’s eliminations starting at 11 a.m., Sunday, June 12.

LUCAS OIL RACING DRIVER NOTES:

Morgan Lucas has three runner-up finishes, which the responsive driver reached in only his seventh, eighth, and 10th starts. He finished 16th in the 2004 NHRA Top Fuel Point standings with 502 points after competing in only eight races on the 23-race schedule. He is currently 143 points from the 2005 POWERade lead in fifth place with Lucas amassing a total of 579 points after the completion of nine events.

In the June 6 edition of the renowned Sports Illustrated magazine, Lucas’ Top Fuel dragster is featured on the ‘American Speed’ category section on page 65 displaying the various forms of auto racing.

Lucas' quickest elapsed time is 4.474 seconds, set on Feb. 12, 2005 at Pomona Raceway. He sped to his fastest mile per hour of 328.94.40 mph set on May 29 in the first round of eliminations at the 2005 O’Reilly Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kansas. He won his first Budweiser low qualifier on May 14 at Atlanta Dragway recording a time 4.541 seconds. Morgan Lucas’ first Top Fuel event behind the wheel of the Joe Amato-owned dragster was the 2004 Lucas Oil Nationals at the Brainerd (MN.) International Raceway on August 15, 2004. DOB: November 27, 1983.
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Topeka - Final

MORGAN LUCAS SETS LOW ELAPSED TIME AT NHRA O’REILLY SUMMER NATIONALS

Morgan Lucas set low elapsed time of the race in his opening round of eliminations at the 17th annual NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, marking another first for the sophomore driver of the Lucas Oil dragster with his run of 4.502 seconds. On the same pass, he powered his way to a personal career best mile per hour of 328.94-mph defeating his first round opponent, Mitch King.

“I don’t think we anticipated that good of a run,” said a smiling Lucas. “The car literally motored on from the half track point on to the finish line. We were able to get the car to run on all eight cylinders without any problems of dropping any holes. That’s the fastest miles per hour I’ve ever run. It felt strong and got on the rev-limiter right before the finish line. Hey, let me tell you that was a trip. We would have gone 330 mph if it wasn’t for that.”

The quarterfinals had Lucas beating Brandon Bernstein after leaving the starting line first and never having to look back taking the win with a time of 4.570 seconds, 319.90 mph to Bernstein’s tire-smoking time 5.830 seconds, 149. 12 mph.

“In the second round, I was worried a little about the car going down the track, so I worked the brake a little bit extra just to make sure we went A to B,” said Lucas. “It went 4.570 seconds, and Larry Dixon (Lucas’ semi-final challenger) ran a 4.569 elapsed time and he had lane choice by one-thousandth of a second over us in the next round. It became a one-lane race in the semis, no one in Top Fuel or Funny Car went down the right lane, and unfortunately, we were one of them.”

Lucas lost to Larry Dixon after his powerful dragster lost traction and coasted to a time of 9.415 seconds, 95.23 mph, to Dixon’s swifter time of 4.546 seconds, 328.46 mph.

For Morgan Lucas it was “Mission Accomplished’ as he made progress in the big picture of the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel points standings by carving 39 points into points frontrunner, Doug Kalitta’s lead, after the Riverside, Ca. driver advanced to his fifth semi-finals of the 2005 season. About the only thing that didn’t go his way today was that he slipped two positions in the standings and now resides in fifth place with 579 points.

“We’re still gaining on the leaders and there are still plenty of races left,” Lucas said. “We’re making up ground and the top five point runners are very close. We’re fifth and only a round of competition behind Dixon and David Grubnic. If we can go a couple of rounds further than them in the next couple of races we’ll be all right, after all you never know what is going to happen. You have to be there to capitalize on it. The team with the winningest average at the end of the year will be the champion and hopefully we can be that guy.”

Another first happened at Heartland Park Topeka as fellow Top Fuel driver; David Grubnic captured his first win in the Top Fuel division. Since it wasn’t in the cards for Lucas to take the title, he was more than please for the Kalitta team and especially their driver.

“I’m happy for David Grubnic, I really am truly, genuinely happy for him,” grinned Lucas, who is now in line to be the next Top Fuel winner. “That guy has been racing for a long time and for him to get his first win is quite an accomplishment. I am so proud of him; I can’t even describe my sincere happiness for him.”

The next NHRA National event for the Lucas Oil Racing team will be coming up in two weeks at the Route 66 Raceway near Chicago slated to run on June 9-12.

DIXON DRIVES MILLER LITE DRAGSTER TO RUNNER-UP FINISH AT HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion (2002-03) Larry Dixon used a consistent tune-up to race his Miller Lite dragster to a runner-up performance Sunday at Heartland Park Topeka

Dixon, who set a Heartland Park track speed record at 331.61-mph during qualifying, knocked off David Baca, two-time series champion (1994-95) Scott Kalitta and rising star Morgan Lucas before falling to Australian native David Grubnic in the final round.

“I thought we had a really good car,” Dixon said. “It was phenomenal on race day until the final round. In the final, we had a clutch error that caused us to instantly smoke the tires. We still have a great car. If we can fix that, we should be a better car.”

Dixon used the third quickest elapsed time of the opening round of eliminations to defeat No. 14 qualifier Baca. The Dick LaHaie-tuned Miller Lite/Ameriquest car powered to a pass of 4.555 seconds at 328.54 mph, while Baca’s rail lost traction early in the run.

The Miller Lite dragster posted the quickest elapsed time of the second round of racing when the 36-time NHRA winner blasted to a run of 4.569 at 326.56 to earn the trip to the semifinals. S. Kalitta’s Mac Tools-backed dragster hazed the tires and slowed to a 4.945-second E.T.

Dixon again clocked the quickest E.T. of the round when he bested second-year racer Lucas in the semifinals. This time, the Miller Lite/Lucas Oil rail stopped the Heartland Park timers in 4.546 at 328.46. Lucas’ dragster overpowered the race track on the semifinal pass.

In his third final-round appearance of the season and 66th of his career, Dixon’s car lost traction early in the run, allowing Grubnic to cruise to a pass of 4.600 at 320.28 to score his first career NHRA Top Fuel victory after posting seven runner-up finishes, including five last season.

“Everything was fine until Larry (Dixon) hit the gas pedal,” LaHaie joked. “We gave him a perfectly good race car. Seriously, we had a clutch malfunction on that run. It’s pretty rare. It happened in the second round at Pomona earlier this year.

“It appears that we have a decent hot-weather tune-up. I’m pleased with the adjustments that we made and I’m very happy with the way the car ran this weekend.”

“If we can maintain the type of performance that we’ve been able to put up at the past few events, we should be in the thick of things come the end of the year,” Dixon added. “If you have a good running car, the points will work themselves out.”

Dixon’s runner-up finish moved the veteran racer to third place in the Top Fuel standings. He trails points leader Doug Kalitta by 129 points or six rounds of competition. 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. Dixon won the spring Chicago event in 2002.

Cory Mac drops close race

Cory McClenathan, driver of the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster, was turned back by Scott Kalitta in a close race in the opening round of the NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals.

Kalitta, who covered the Heartland Park Topeka quarter-mile in 4.556 seconds, defeated the quicker McClenathan, who stopped the finish line lights in 4.537 seconds.

“The guys did a great job,” said McClenathan. “Todd Smith (crew chief), Bob Bauer (clutch specialist) and the crew really turned this car around this weekend. This FRAM AirHog is really going in the right direction now. Unfortunately, their driver let them down.

“I completely gave it away. It’s uncharacteristic of me. I hesitated on the starting line and I shouldn’t of. We had the car today to beat him (Scott Kalitta). Once again, the driver let one get away. I feel bad for the team, FRAM and all our sponsors and for the Carrier Boyz.”

After three consecutive races, the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series takes a weekend off. Next up for Cory Mac and Carrier Boyz Racing is the CarQuest Auto Parts Nationals (June 9-12) at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., near Chicago.

Zizzo’s solid performance comes up short

T.J. Zizzo and his Torco Racing Fuels Top dragster were prepared for competition at 17th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX. The all-volunteer Zizzo Racing team visits the Sunday round of eliminations for their eighth consecutive time.

Zizzo was the second pair to the starting line along side Brandon Bernstein. Zizzo had a slight edge when they went left the tree but Bernstein quickly makes up lost ground and drives around Zizzo for the win. Zizzo looses a blower belt at the end of the run, posting a 4.818 seconds at 247.88 mph.

“We expected to perform a lot better than we did,” said Zizzo. “The car was kind of sluggish as it made its pass, which means we just missed a little on the set-up. The entire team had high expectations today considering tenth is the highest we have ever qualified. This team is hungry for a win because they work really hard to make this car go fast and most important, go safely down the track. Hats off the Brenstein’s Racing team, they went up there and got the job done. I would like to thank Torco Racing Fuels for giving me the opportunity to compete at this level on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.”

The Zizzo Racing team will have the next two week to prepare for competition at their home track for the 8th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois.

HERBERT JUMPS UP IN THE POINT STANDINGS

Doug Herbert jumped up two positions in
the NHRA POWERade point standings Sunday at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. Herbert moved into the No. 7 spot in the points, leaping up two positions.

"It's great moving up two positions," Herbert said. "The competition
is real tough this year and everyone is keeping the top 10 honest. We
need to keep moving up and see if we can be legitimate contenders."

Doug drove his Snap-on Tools Top Fuel dragster to two round victories,
beating Rod Fuller and Scott Palmer before falling to David Grubnic in
the semifinals.

Herbert earned the first round win over Fuller with a 4.593-second
pass at 322.27 mph to best Fuller's 4.628 at 321.27.

"The first round was awesome because that was the best run we made all
weekend," the 1999 Topeka winner said. "That round win gave me some
confidence. It was especially good for the team because rounds like
that build morale and that's a great way to race during eliminations.

"We haven't gone rounds since Pomona to be honest and it was fun to be
in hustle mode again."

In second round action, Herbert faced off with Palmer in a battle of
tire-smoking dragsters. Herbert pedaled to victory with a 6.379 at
246.48 over Palmer's 10.090 at 111.20.

"I would rather be lucky than good any day," Herbert said. "We needed
to go a couple of rounds and that is one way of doing it."
Herbert's dragster smoked the tires in the semis against Grubnic.

"We still need to be pleased with the weekend because we had a good lap
this morning and we moved up two spots in the point standings. We still
have some work to do because we need to win the tough rounds too. We
got lucky today and we can't rely on luck to get us to winner's circle.
We can't expect to be a legitimate threat to win races on Sunday if we
don't become more consistent.

"Still, I can't say enough about the way this team works. They did a
great job and I know that we are going to be making plans to get the
car running quicker on a regular basis."

Topeka - Saturday

Zizzo qualifies for his eight consecutive event and is in the 10th position

T.J. Zizzo and his Torco Racing Fuels Top dragster are comfortably in the tenth position on the ladder at the at the 17th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX. The skies cleared and temperatures were on the rise for Saturday action at Heartland Raceway Topeka.

Zizzo was the first pair to the starting line and at the whack of the throttle he was on a decent run until he lost a blower belt about 1000 feet down the track. He was unable to improve his position by running a 4.744 at 260.97 mph and was moved down to the ninth position after third round of qualifying. Zizzo’s forth and final stab at the track resulted in a 4.722 at 306.67 mph. The Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel dragster was nudged down to the tenth position on the ladder for Sundays round of eliminations.

“On the first run we were a little concerned about the track conditions so we kind of tip toed through there and ended up tossing a belt,” explained Zizzo. “The second run we dropped a cylinder right from the start and chewed up the blower a little bit otherwise, we could have done better. As we rolled up to the starting line we knew we were advancing to the round of eliminations. We never considered pulling the car from the line on our final run, we are here to race and we feel our fans deserve to see us Top Fuelers put on a show.”

Zizzo will go up against Brandon Bernstein in the first round. This will be the second time in the past year these two will square off at the tree.

“Brandon is a very good competitor and if I do my job at the tree it should be an excellent drag race. I’m confident that my crew will give me a great hot rod tomorrow that will put up good numbers.”

LUCAS NO. 2 IN TOPEKA QUALIFYING

Lucas Oil racing’s Top Fuel driver, Morgan Lucas powered his way to record his second No. 2 starting position in only his 17th race with a qualifying pass of 4.520 seconds, at a speed of 324.90 mph for the running of the NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

In Sunday’s first round of eliminations, Lucas will face Mitch King for the first time of his young career and fully understands that he cannot take his competition very lightly.

“This is drag racing and you only have 4.5-seconds to get it done,” said the 21-year old Lucas. “After you step on the throttle, you could go out there and shake the tires at any time. We have to run our own race, run our own lane, and attempt to turn on our win light.”

For 2005, the emphasis on qualifying has been a priority with the team and because of that way of thinking; the Lucas Oil Joe Amato-owned Top Fuel team has really stepped up its program receiving their first No. 1 qualifier at the Atlanta Dragway just two weeks ago.

“In the two qualifying sessions that we made it down the track, the results turned out to be pretty good,” said Lucas. “On the third session, when we didn’t, we just were too aggressive. We wanted to see what the car would do. We made two good runs in qualifying with elapsed times of 4.52 and 4.59 seconds and our Lucas Oil team will do a good job tomorrow, rest assured of that. Although every car out here is a good car in the Top Fuel division, we’ll be just fine for tomorrow. During eliminations, you have to have your game face on and your mind set. I know we’re capable of winning. We just have to make it happen and I’m just fortunate to be starting where I am.”

ESPN2 will air the O’Reilly Summer Nationals final round eliminations from Heartland Park Topeka starting at 8 p.m., Sunday, May 29.

HERBERT READY FOR MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION

Doug Herbert saw improvement with the
Snap-on Tools dragster team Saturday at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer
Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. That could make all the difference
during Sunday's final elimination rounds.

Herbert drove his Snap-on Top Fuel entry to the No. 9 spot in
qualifying with a 4.622-second pass at 322.04.

"The car ran better today and anytime you can improve you have to feel
better about Sunday," Herbert said. "The car went down the track on
both runs today and that's a big improvement over yesterday and the
last few races.

"We aren't at the point in performance where we want to be, but we
didn't smoke the tires today and gives us more confidence for the first
round."

Herbert will face Rod Fuller in the first round. Fuller went 4.602 at
319.14 to take the No. 8 position in qualifying.

"I think we need to step up even further and run a 4.56 or something
close to be able to win tomorrow," Herbert said. "The guys are working
so hard on this car and I think it's a good possibility to make another
jump in performance."
Herbert, the 1999 winner at Heartland Park, is aiming to back up his
previous victory.

"The best thing about racing is that any team who qualifies has a
chance of winning the event," Herbert said. "Sometimes all the hard
work pays off four round wins at a time. A win on Sunday would be a
great way to celebrate Memorial Day."

Final eliminations start at 11 a.m. Sunday. ESPN and ESPN2 will air
coverage of the event. Qualifying will start at 8 p.m. (ET) on ESPN on
Saturday. Final eliminations can be seen at 8 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.

NHRA Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta qualifies No. 1 in Topeka; Kalitta Motorsports teammates Scott Kalitta and “Aussie Dave” Grubnic qualify No. 6 and No. 5 respectively

For the second time in the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series and for the 25th time in his career, Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta, driver of the Mac Tools flagship Top Fueler will begin Sunday’s final eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier.

At the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kans., Kalitta Motorsports’ NHRA-only three-car Top Fuel dragster team of Doug, his cousin Scott Kalitta and “Aussie Dave” Grubnic all qualified for the top-half of the 16-car eliminations ladder.

Two-time championship points runner-up (2003-2004) and 2004 Topeka title runner-up Doug, 40, made his best lap down the quarter-mile of Heartland Park Topeka with a 4.505-second, 329.26-mph lap in Friday’s first qualifying session. The posted time held up through another qualifying session Friday and two more Saturday to give Doug the top spot. He will race No. 16 qualifier Scott Palmer in round one of eliminations. Doug is 2-0 versus Palmer in his career.

“I wasn’t so sure that our time would hold up,” Doug said. “The competition out here is really great.

“We’ll just see what we can do tomorrow. Race day is always different. You can never count on how well you qualify, but my Mac Tools team has really been doing a great job this year, so I’m sure we’ll be set to go for another final tomorrow.”

Doug will be vying for his fifth consecutive NHRA final-round Sunday. He has made the title round at the previous four national events in Las Vegas, Bristol, Tenn., Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio.

Doug is an eight-year Top Fuel veteran and former USAC National Sprint Car Champion (1994). He owns 22 NHRA national event trophies. He has three wins so far in 2005 (Gainesville, Fla., Bristol and Atlanta).

Two-time Top Fuel World Champion (1994-1995) and Doug’s Cousin Scott Kalitta, 43, driver of the Mac Tools/Jesse James Top Fuel dragster, qualified No. 6 (4.561 sec., 327.90 mph). He will race No. 11 qualifier Cory McClenathan in round one of eliminations. Scott is 9-17 versus McClenathan in his career.

Scott, who has won a Topeka event a Top Fuel-record six times, struggled in both Friday qualifying sessions with two tire-shaking 12 + second runs, but rebounded nicely to make two respectable laps in Saturday’s hotter and trickier track conditions.

“We’re certainly happy with what we did today,” Scott’s co-crew chief Jim Oberhofer said. “The track was so good Friday that we were having trouble getting enough power to apply to it.

“It’s kind of funny. Our car is starting to like hotter conditions, which is unusual for a car from the Kalitta camp, but with the summer races now upon us, I’m not complaining. Hopefully, it will keep liking the heat, and we can get back to winning races.”

Scott, who won the opening event of the 2005 season in Pomona, Calif., in February, is currently eighth in championship points. He has 17 (16 Top Fuel, 1 Funny Car) NHRA national event victories in his 24-year career.

The Kalitta cousins teammate Grubnic, driver of the Zantrex-3 Top Fuel hot rod, qualified No. 5 (4.549 seconds, 318.54 mph). He will race No. 12 qualifier John Smith in round one of eliminations. Grubnic is 5-2 versus Smith in his career.

Grubnic made four smooth and practically trouble-free laps in qualifying (4.581, 4.549, 4.613 and 4.748 sec.).

“Jon (Oberhofer, co-crew chief) has been concerned because we’ve been having problems getting down the track some on Fridays,” Grubnic said. “I’m not sure why that has been lately, but we seem to have a fix on it now.

“We got down the track pretty good both days. We had a cylinder drop in the last session, but other than that, everything went fairly according to plan.

“I’m ready to go out there and go for my first win. My guys deserve it and so do all my sponsors. I’m feeling really confident this weekend. I hope this will be our weekend to celebrate in the winner’s circle.”

Fifth place championship points holder and native Australian Grubnic, 42, the $100,000 Budweiser Shootout special event winner last fall in Las Vegas, has made seven final-round appearances in his 11-year career but has not yet won an NHRA national event.

The O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals is the ninth of 23 national events in the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Sunday’s final eliminations begin with the Top Fuel class at 11:00 a.m.

Cory Mac drives FRAM AirHog dragster to the No. 11 qualifying position

The consistency that has been missing from the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster, driven by Cory McClenathan, has returned this weekend as qualifying ended for the NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals, with McClenathan qualified No. 11.

McClenathan, from Lake Havasu City, Ariz., had a best qualifying pass down the Heartland Park Topeka quarter-mile of 4.626 second run at 322.42 mph. He will face Scott Kalitta in the opening round of eliminations tomorrow. Kalitta qualified No. 6 with an elapsed time of 4.561 at a speed of 322.90 mph.

“Todd (Smith, crew chief) and the guys made some really big changes to the car,” said McClenathan, as he reflected on the consistency of the FRAM AirHog dragster. The changes have turned the car around. The car is going down the track a lot smoother than it has for a few races. We not the quickest but our consistency has returned.

Team owner Andy Carrier echoed some of Cory Mac’s thoughts. “We’re finding some consistency with the race car on what has been a hot track this weekend,” said Carrier. “That’s good. We need that. We’ve struggled some on hot tracks in the past. Now we need to pick it up a little bit and go some rounds tomorrow.”

Smith indicated that “we left a little bit on the table that final pass and need to gain it back tomorrow.”

“Looks like we’re going to have a weather change tomorrow and that will add another variable. We’ve got Scott Kalitta and he’s always tough. We’re going in the right direction and we can throw some more power at it tomorrow morning. If it’s cooler the car will run better, but then so will Kalitta. It a given that we’re going to have to step it up some to beat Scott,” concluded McClenathan.

At Heartland Park Topeka, McClenathan went to the final round in 1993 before finishing runner-up to Scott Kalitta. In 1994, he won over Don Prudhomme and followed that win up by turning back Kenny Bernstein in the final round in 1998.

McClenathan, with 429 points, enters the O’Reilly Summer Nationals No. 7 in the POWERade Top Fuel point standings.

DIXON SETS TRACK SPEED MARK EN ROUTE TO NO. 3 QUALIFYING SPOT AT HEARTLAND PARK

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon blasted his Miller Lite dragster to a track speed record Saturday at Heartland Park Topeka as the 36-time NHRA winner qualified third at the 17th annual O’Reilly Spring Nationals with a 4.523-second elapsed time.

After driving Don Prudhomme’s Miller Lite rail to the No. 14 qualifying spot on Friday, Dixon raced to the second quickest pass of Saturday’s opening qualifying session to place the Miller Lite/Ameriquest dragster in the upper half of the Top Fuel order with a performance of 4.583 seconds at 326.56 mph.

“The sun came out and smiled upon us,” assistant crew chief Don Bender joked. “We could have gotten bumped out, so we just had to slide it in there on the first run. After that, we were able to tune it up. We gave it a little motor and clutch and it ran better.”

On his fourth and final qualifying attempt, Dixon blasted the Miller-backed rail to a run of 4.523 seconds at a track-record speed of 331.61 mph to place him third in the 16-car Top Fuel order. The previous track speed mark was held by Mike Dunn at 331.53-mph (May 2001). Dixon’s 4.523-second elapsed time was the quickest of the final qualifying session.

“It was nice to be able to go down the race track on both runs,” Dixon added. “We struggled on both sessions on Friday. To be second quick on the first run allowed us to push in the last session. We were low for the final session and it ran 331 (mph), which, I think, is a pretty good speed.”

The 2003 winner of the Topeka event will battle David Baca in the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations on Sunday morning at Heartland Park. Dixon has a 6-0 mark against the fellow second generation racer.

Topeka - Friday

HERBERT DRIVES TO THE NO. 6 SPOT

Doug Herbert showed the crowds how to
drive a Top Fuel dragster Friday night at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. Herbert's Snap-on Tools dragster didn't make it down the track during the first round of qualifying, but he was determined to be in the top 16 before the night was over.

Determination won out. Herbert drove the Snap-on dragster to a 4.626-second pass at 322.04 mph. Herbert's dragster lost traction almost immediately, forcing Herbert to pedal the car and get it back on track.

"I just wasn't going to let that run go," Herbert said. "It was
definitely better than the first pass of the day. It was a move in the right direction but we need to keep improving and just make that one, solid run straight down the track."
Herbert, the 1999 winner at Heartland Park, is qualified in the No. 6 spot after two sessions. Persistent rain showers forced the two sessions late into the evening, making the track more difficult to navigate.

"The track temperature dropped quite a bit from the first session," Herbert said. "Guys either made a great pass down the track or didn't get to half track before smoking the tires. I'm glad we got the car down the track and am in the top half of the field going into the second day of qualifying.

"Tomorrow (Saturday) could be a completely different game. It could be warm and that would require an entirely different setup. We'll get out here bright and early and see what we can do."

DIXON SITS 14TH WITH TWO SESSIONS REMAINING AT TOPEKA

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon placed his Miller Lite dragster in the No. 14 qualifying position Friday at Heartland Park Topeka after the first day of qualifying was completed in Kansas.

Qualifying kicked off late Friday afternoon following persistent rain showers that delayed the start of qualifying at Heartland Park. On his first qualifying attempt of the weekend, at the track where he raced to the win two seasons ago, Dixon shut off early after the Miller Lite rail got out of the groove. The 36-time NHRA winner coasted to a pass of 5.019 seconds at 203.31 mph to begin qualifying. Under the lights, Dixon’s Miller Lite/Ameriquest dragster overpowered the race track and shook the tires as the dragster slowed to a run of 8.890 at 96.03.

“The car shook and got out of the groove on the first run,” assistant crew chief Don Bender said. “It shook even worse on the night run. The track was cold and we don’t like running on a cold race track.”

Dixon and Don Prudhomme’s Miller Lite team eye a position in the upper half of the Top Fuel ladder when qualifying resumes Saturday with Top Fuel sessions scheduled for 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Dixon won the Topeka race in 2003.

Zizzo powers his way to the top half of the field in the 7th position

Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel pilot T.J. Zizzo powered his way to the seventh position at the conclusion of Friday qualifying at the17th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX. The on and off rain delayed the start of first round qualifying by over two hours at Heartland Raceway Topeka. Once the rain stopped the NHRA crews worked quickly to prepare the track for the first round session and ideal evening race conditions.

Zizzo was the third pair to the starting line and blasted a pass at an elapse time of 4.622 at 318.02 mph.

“That run was a nice smooth pass, it trucked right on through there and it was as clean as a whistle,” said Zizzo. “I thought that we actually ran a little better than I expected, it’s great way to start out our weekend.”

At the conclusion of the first round of qualifying, Zizzo was in the top half of the field in the sixth position. Second round of qualifying started late into the evening however, team owner Tony Zizzo Sr decided not to send the Torco Racing Fuels dragster down the track for it’s second pass. At the conclusion of the second round of qualifying, Zizzo was moved down one spot and is now in the seventh position.

“The car was ready to go down the track for the second round of qualifying but as it got late into night, I decided not to make the run,” said team owner Tony Zizzo Sr. “My crew has been working through the rain all day and into the late evening hours. I wanted them to get some rest to prepare for tomorrows runs. In addition, there was somewhat of a finical impact by not running. I feel that it’s more important that we look forward and focus on Saturday’s runs in preparation for the Sunday round of eliminations.”

The Zizzo Racing team will bank the single Friday pass and prepare for Saturdays action.

Topeka - Pre-race

SCHUMACHER HOPES TO PRESENT SPECIAL GIFT TO FALLEN HEROES

Memorial Day weekend represents many things
to many different people, but for Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher it means but one thing - remembering those who have died in our nation's service.

The driver of the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster would like nothing better than to honor our nation's late heroes by capturing his first O'Reilly Summer Nationals here at Heartland Park.

"That would be the ultimate," said the Chicago native.
"Unfortunately, many Americans have forgotten the true meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. I, for one, have not forgotten. I want to win the race this weekend for all of our fallen soldiers."

To further support the Memorial Day spirit, Schumacher's dragster will carry a decal on both sides of the cockpit for the entire race weekend that will read "National Moment of Remembrance - Memorial Day 3 p.m."

It has become tradition that on Memorial Day, at precisely 3 p.m., Americans are asked to observe a one-minute moment of silence to honor those who died in service to our Nation. The time was chosen because it's when many Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday.

"Memorial Day is so important for all of us," added Schumacher. "We need to make sure that we properly express our gratitude to those who made
the supreme sacrifice for our country. I know I will be pausing on Monday at 3 p.m. to say thank you."

Schumacher will be looking to convert the success he generated at National Trail Raceway last weekend over to Heartland Park, a facility he has yet to win at.

The 2004 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world champion captured the Pontiac Performance Nationals in grand style last Sunday with a 4.489-second pass at an NHRA national record-setting speed of 336.15 mph.

"That win was huge for us in a lot of ways," added Schumacher. "Frankly, beating (Doug) Kalitta in the finals had more value than the speed mark. It ended up being a 40-point swing in the standings. Instead of trailing him by 83 points had we lost, we're now in second-place 43 points
back. As good a team as they are, you don't want to let those guys get on any kind of a roll."

Schumacher's win in Columbus was the 24th of his career and his third of 2005.

Zizzo is ready for back-to-back action

T.J. Zizzo and his Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel dragster are ready to get back to work at the 17th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX. Zizzo is coming off qualifying twelfth at last weekend’s 41st annual Pontiac Performance Nationals presented by Summit Racing in Columbus, Ohio. Last weekend the Zizzo Racing team was challenged by less than ideal racing conditions, but are ready to resume action stronger than ever.

“Competing in our first back-to-back event will give me and the team a taste of what the sport demands at this level,” said Zizzo. “I am really looking forward to climbing back into the seat after being out of it for just four days. I wanted to get at least five solid runs in last weekend to prepare for this race and unfortunately we only were able to get in two. I think it is important that we salvage what we learned and find our engine combination for Heartland Raceway Topeka. The field is going to be tough and competitive as compared to last week so we will have to step up our game. Our hot rod is as good as everyone else’s and I’m ready to whack that loud pedal.”

“As a team we had to strategically plan for these two consecutive events,” said team owner Tony Zizzo Sr. “The transporter made a brief stop at our shop in Lincolnshire, Illinois and is on its way to Topeka. T.J. will not be driving the rig on this road trip, I feel it’s very important that he gets his rest and concentrates on his already overwhelming responsibilities. The team wants to compete on a more continuous basis to stay in that racing mode, it will make them more efficient as we go through this season.”

The Zizzo Racing team who is an all-volunteer team has never competed in back to back events on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Even though this will be a new challenge, the team is confident that they will qualify for their eighth consecutive event.

BUDWEISER/LUCAS OIL TEAM: FLASHBACK TO 2004 VICTORY

Brandon Bernstein would like to freeze frame last year’s victory at Heartland Park Topeka to savor again at this year’s O’Reilly Summer Nationals May 27-29.

Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster, celebrated his sixth career victory over 2004 Memorial weekend, set a track record speed of 330.55 miles per hour, and moved into the POWERade Top Fuel point lead.

“Last year we were on an emotional high,” said the second generation driver. “I can’t describe the feeling of going 330 miles per hour. It’s just an awesome adrenaline rush. And standing on the victory podium and then celebrating with the team is a feeling you never forget.

“Our team is hungry this year. We’re right on the edge of victory. I can feel it. We’ve run some awesome numbers in these last four or five events. We just need to get over the top somehow. This team is pulling together and we’ve made some strong moves recently.

“This is the third race of a three-race string and hopefully getting so many runs in week after week will help us gain consistency.”

Bernstein qualified No. 1 at Bristol April 30 and set low elapsed time and top speed marks at that event and followed that performance with top speed of the event at Atlanta Dragway.

“The numbers we’re running show we have the combination to excel,” continued Bernstein. “We just need to go four rounds on Sunday.”

Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta going for fifth straight NHRA final in Topeka

Ann Arbor, Mich., native Doug Kalitta, driver of the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, hopes to extend his NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series Top Fuel championship points lead and extend his streak of
consecutive final-round appearances to five after his career-best fourth
straight final at the previous NHRA event in Columbus, Ohio.

This weekend, May 26-29, at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kans., Doug and his Kalitta Motorsports teammates Scott Kalitta, driver of the Mac Tools/Jesse James Top Fuel dragster, and "Aussie Dave" Grubnic, driver of the Zantrex-3 Top Fuel dragster, are all hoping for Top Fuel glory in America's heartland with their 7,000 + horsepower, nitro-fueled race cars.

Doug was runner-up for the Top Fuel title in Topeka in 2004. Also in the
2004 event, he set the HPT track record for elapsed time, 4.487 seconds. He
had runner-up finishes at HPT in 2000 and 2003, but he has yet to win the
event.

Two-time Top Fuel championship points runner-up (2003-2004) Doug, 40, is an eight-year Top Fuel veteran with 22 career NHRA wins in 45 final-round
appearances. He is a former USAC National Sprint Car Champion (1994). He holds the time slip for the quickest run in NHRA history (4.420 sec.,
Chicago 1 - 2004). His career-best speed is 335.57 mph. He won the 1998 Auto Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner for NHRA rookie excellence.

Doug has won three events (Gainesville, Bristol and Atlanta) so far in the
first eight events of 2005. He has been in five of the last six NHRA final
rounds (Gainesville, Las Vegas 1, Bristol, Atlanta and Columbus). He leads
the championship points chase by 43 over Tony Schumacher.

Two-time Top Fuel World Champion (1994-1995) and Snead Island, Fla.,
resident Scott Kalitta, 43, has had enormous success in Topeka. He has won
an event at HTP a record-holding six times (1993 (2), 1995 (2), 1996 and
1997). He was No. 1 qualifier at HTP in the first event of 1993 and in the
second event of 1995.

Scott has 17 (16 Top Fuel, 1 Funny Car) NHRA national event victories in his
24-year career. His career-best elapsed time is 4.455 sec., and his
career-best speed is 333.95 mph. He won the 2005 NHRA season-opening
Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. He is currently eighth in points.

Unlike his Kalitta Motorsports teammate Scott, fifth place points holder and
native Australian Grubnic, 42, has not fared so well in Topeka. In eight
career appearances so far at HTP, Grubnic has yet to win a round of
eliminations.

He has made seven final-round appearances in his career but has yet to score his first NHRA national event win. He has made semi-final appearances in three out of eight events so far this season (Pomona 1, Phoenix and Las Vegas 1).His career-best elapsed time is 4.448 sec., and his career-best speed is 333.58 mph.

BME GEARS UP FOR COMEBACK IN TOPEKA

When the going gets tough, the Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team
gets going. The 2005 season got off to a rough start with a crash at
Pomona Raceway caused by a cut tire. With a refurbished race car and new
driver Bobby Lagana Jr. at the wheel at Houston Raceway Park, the
BME/Okuma dragster had its second close encounter of the guardrail kind
on its first run. So after two events, the scoreboard reads: “Armco 2,
BME 0.”

Despite its early-season setbacks, the BME team still has high hopes for
2005. The black-and-yellow dragster is scheduled to rejoin the NHRA
Powerade Drag Racing Series at the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in
Topeka, Kan., on Memorial Day weekend.

“Chassis builder Don Long, the sheetmetal guys, the painter and the crew
really busted their butts to get the car repaired after the first
accident,” said BME team owner Bill Miller, “Then they had to do it all
again after one run in Houston. We don’t have spare cars stacked to the
ceiling in the race car shop, and it’s tough when you see how much time
and effort went for naught. But the BME team has heart, and we’ll be back.”

Lagana’s first ride in the BME dragster was a textbook illustration of
Murphy’s Law, as Miller explained: “The car was finished a week ahead of
time, and everyone was pumped up about going to Houston. Of course,
Bobby’s excited because it’s his first event with a new team.

“When we warmed up the engine, the oil pressure was a little low, and
afterward the crew checked the valve lash and found two burned pushrod
cups. Unfortunately replacing the pushrods didn’t cure the problem,
because on the first run, the exhaust pushrod for the No. 7 cylinder
failed. Then the intake pushrod broke because it couldn’t open the valve
against the pressure in the cylinder. Now the blower is putting more air
into the other seven cylinders, which go lean and kick out the head
gaskets. That starts a small fire that’s hot enough to burn the brake
line off the rear end.

“So Bobby is coasting at 175 mph, and when he pulls the brake handle,
the car doesn’t slow down. He pulls the parachute, but the car is
approaching the turn off, and he’s catching TJ Zizzo, who ran 300 mph in
the other lane. Bobby’s moving toward the centerline and getting lined
up to go into the sand trap, but the official at the top end motions to
Zizzo to cut across in front of him. Zizzo does as he’s instructed, so
Bobby either has to hit Zizzo or the guardrail. He chose the guardrail.

“The car hit a hay bale that was in front of the barrier, and the impact
bent the front of the car into a “Z” – it trashed the front wing, the
new body panels, and the entire chassis ahead of the driver cage. Of
course, Bobby was broken hearted, but the accident wasn’t his fault and
I told him not to worry about it.”

The BME Top Fuel troops will regroup at Heartland Park Topeka on May 27
with a new battle plan.

“I think we’ll make a half-pass out of the box in Topeka just to get
Bobby comfortable with the car,” Miller reported. “Then it’s hammer down
for Topeka, Chicago, Madison and the West Coast races.”

Herbert has seen it all at Heartland Park Topeka

Any racer who has been around the block a few times can conjure up stories of all kinds when the name of any track is mentioned. They all have a good story, some have a great story and some even have that one story that will make you wince with pain or cry with laughter.

Doug Herbert has all of those stories when it comes to Heartland Park
Topeka in Topeka, Kan., the site of this weekend's O'Reilly NHRA Summer
Nationals. Herbert, driver of the Snap-on Tools dragster, made his
professional debut at an NHRA event in 1991. He's been blazing down the
quarter-mile tracks all over the nation ever since.

Topeka is one of his favorite – and least favorite – venues on the
schedule.

"We won here in 1999, beating my buddy Joe Amato in the final,"
Herbert said. "That was a great memory and something that makes you
want to come back to a track. But we also had one of the worst crashes
in history there. The crash was in 1993 and it was a real, real bad
one. People don't remember that one as well because it was so long ago,
but it was one of the worst days in my racing career. That crash rung
my bell good."

As Herbert prepares for qualifying on Friday (pro sessions at 4:30 and
7:30 p.m.) he is aiming to forget about the past completely and focus
on this season.

"Sometimes a win in the past will help you with confidence and data
from the track," Herbert said. "A lot of things have changed since our
last victory at Topeka, so now we just have to figure out how to
improve from last weekend's performance."

The Summer Nationals is the final of three consecutive races. It was
the first three-race swing of the 2005 POWERade season. But Herbert
won't be taking any time off.

"We lost in the first round at Atlanta to start the swing off poorly,"
he said. "Then we won a round last weekend in Columbus. Now we need to
win two rounds and show that we are capable of improving on our
mistakes.

"We won't be back at the shop during the weekend off. We’ll be in
Englishtown (N.J.) for a match race. Winning a couple of rounds in
Topeka would be a great way to start the trip to Englishtown."

A win would be a great way for Cory Mac to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend

Putting a disappointing and frustration loss this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio behind him, Cory McClenathan, driver of the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster, is excited about this Memorial Day weekend’s NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

“We never did get untracked at Columbus; it was a difficult, disappointing and frustrating weekend,” said McClenathan, who was born in nearby Wichita. “You put that behind you because this weekend we move to one of my favorite tracks, Heartland Park Topeka. I won here in 1994 and 1998 and was runner-up one year. I’ve also advanced to the semifinal round several times.

“I’m looking forward to getting started. Todd Smith (crew chief) and the guys are ready to go. So let’s get this event underway and see what the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster can do. A win would be a great way to celebrate Memorial Day weekend.”

At Heartland Park Topeka, McClenathan went to the final round in 1993 before finishing runner-up to Scott Kalitta. In 1994, he won over Don Prudhomme and followed that win up by turning back Kenny Bernstein in the final round in 1998.

McClenathan, with 429 points, enters the O’Reilly Summer Nationals No. 7 in the POWERade Top Fuel point standings, just 50 points out of the top five and 73 behind third.

“We were No. 1 qualifier here last year,” recalled McClenathan, who now resides in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. “If we can repeat again this year, it would be a morale builder for the Carrier Boyz Racing team and give us the momentum to go after the guys in front of us in points. With a third of the season gone, points are important each and every event.”

DIXON EAGER TO GET BACK ON THE WINNING TRACK AT HEARTLAND PARK

Having spent more than 10 seasons behind the wheel of Don Prudhomme’s Miller Lite Top Fuel dragster, Larry Dixon has experienced that ultimate high—winning consecutive series titles (2002-03) and 36 races, the third most in NHRA Top Fuel history. However, the veteran driver also knows that there will be more than a few speed bumps along the road towards achieving his goal of a third NHRA Top Fuel crown.

Dixon and his Miller Lite/Ameriquest crew are battling for a third title in four seasons, and the team’s performance through the first eight races of the 2005 NHRA POWERade season gives them reason to be optimistic. Dixon racked up his 24th career No. 1 qualifying award, along with posting a season-best speed (331.94-mph) last weekend in Ohio. Combined with one win in two final round appearances and a career-best elapsed time (4.481-seconds), Dixon and company know there will be more enjoyable moments along the 23-race journey that makes its annual stop in the Sunflower State this weekend.

When the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series makes its annual Memorial Day visit to Kansas’ state capitol, May 26-29, for the 17th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals, the series will wrap-up the first of four scheduled three-race swings. Dixon, the 2003 winner of the Topeka race, knows how to keep an even keel and that a strong showing at Heartland Park can vault the Miller Lite/Lucas Oil team right into title contention.

“I’ve learned to not let the highs get you too high or to let the down times get you too down,” Dixon said. “In my little world of driving the race car, I know what I need to worry about and what not to worry about. I’m just focusing on doing my job and holding up my end of the deal to the team. It’s my job to do my best and my part for Don Prudhomme and Dick LaHaie.”

With his veteran leadership skills, along with leading the Top Fuel category in average reaction time, the 1995 NHRA Rookie of the Year is doing everything in his power to help the team compete for another championship. With a bit of luck to go along with Dixon’s driving and a strong LaHaie tune-up, the Miller Lite dragster might just experience a few more highs over the course of the 2005 NHRA campaign.

“We have a good running car, but we’ve lost a couple of close races,” Dixon said. “At this point, the only car that this swing has worked out for is Doug Kalitta. I still think we have a strong race car and I know that we have the opportunity to do well at every event that we go to. The race tracks are being prepped more inconsistently lately and that has affected us. If we can get a handle on that, I know that we can make a good showing at each race.”

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Columbus - Sunday

SCHUMACHER SECURES THIRD WIN OF THE YEAR WITH 336 MPH RUN

Piloting his U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster,
Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher set an NHRA national speed record of 336.15 mph here Sunday en route to a victory in the Pontiac Performance Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

Schumacher posted a 4.489-second pass at the aforementioned 336.15
mph to beat Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta in the finals.

"What a ride," said the Chicago native. "As with every win, this one
was for all of our brave men and women fighting for our freedom."

On the way to his meeting with Kalitta, Schumacher and his crew
chief, Alan Johnson, ran off a string of impressive 4.50-second passes to
dispose of T.J. Zizzo, Jack Beckman and Brandon Bernstein.

"Really, beating Kalitta was especially important as he was
beginning to pad his lead in the standings (Schumacher is now 43 points
behind Kalitta in second-place)," added the 2004 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world champion. "You don't want to let a team like his get on any kind of
roll."

Schumacher's win at National Trail Raceway was the 24th of his
career and his second at the track located just east of Columbus.

"Now, we have to build off this one come next weekend in Topeka," he
said.

Doug Kalitta makes final round at NHRA Columbus event; Kalitta Motorsports teammates Scott Kalitta and “Aussie Dave” Grubnic make quarterfinals

At the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, Kalitta Motorsports’ Doug Kalitta, driver of the bright red and black flame-adorned Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, reached his fourth consecutive NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event final round Sunday. It was the 45th final-round appearance of Doug’s quarter-mile career and his fifth final round of 2005. Doug’s Kalitta Motorsports teammates Scott Kalitta and “Aussie Dave” Grubnic made quarter-final round appearances.

In round one of final eliminations, No. 2 qualifier Doug defeated Bruce Litton, 4.554 seconds, 328.86 mph to 4.882 sec., 299.73 mph. No. 7 qualifier Scott defeated Tim Cullinan, 4.576 sec., 323.50 mph to 4.756 sec., 300.66 mph and No. 3 qualifier Grubnic defeated John Smith, 4.586 sec., 325.85 mph to 7.656 sec., 111.12 mph.

In a great side-by-side quarter-final round two race between Kalitta cousins Doug and Scott, Doug barely won the battle of the teammates, 4.566 sec., 326.32 mph to 4.587 sec., 328.14 mph. Scott’s quicker starting line reaction time of .031 sec. against Doug’s .050 sec. start helped make the race incredibly exciting for the big crowd of fans at National Trail Raceway. The margin of victory was a mere 0.0027 sec. (approximately 16 inches).

The obviously close heads-up race between Doug and Scott should now finally squelch all speculation of Kalitta Motorsports’ alleged team orders that have been the talk of the NHRA pits lately after points leader Doug had won the previous three match-ups with his Kalitta Motorsports teammates.

In his quarter-final round match-up with Morgan Lucas, Grubnic lost traction very early in the run and ended his bid for his fourth semifinal of 2005, 10.959 sec., 76.19 mph to 4.556 sec., 323.19 mph.

In the semifinals, Doug avenged his teammate Grubnic’s loss to Lucas by beating the young driver, 4.989 sec., 306.53 mph to 17.070 sec., 36.60 mph to set up a final-round showdown with defending Top Fuel World Champion and current second place points holder Tony Schumacher.

In a race for the ages between the two top race cars in Top Fuel, Doug had to settle for a runner-up finish in a thrilling drag race, 4.513 sec., 324.90 mph to 4.489 sec., 336.15 mph. Doug maintains a 43-point lead over Schumacher in a championship points battle that is shaping up to last all season between the two.

Current Top Fuel championship points leader and two-time championship points runner-up (2003-2004) Doug, 40, an eight-year Top Fuel veteran and former USAC National Sprint Car Champion (1994), owns 22 NHRA national event trophies. He won the Mac Tools Gatornationals in March in Gainesville, Fla., and the previous two national events before Columbus in Bristol, Tenn., and Atlanta.

Two-time Top Fuel World Champion (1994-1995) Scott Kalitta, 43, driver of the colorfully striped and black Mac Tools/Jesse James Top Fuel dragster, won the opening event of the 2005 season in Pomona, Calif., in February. He is currently eighth in championship points. He has 17 (16 Top Fuel, 1 Funny Car) NHRA national event victories in his 24-year career.

Fifth place championship points holder, native Australian and driver of the black and electric blue-flamed Zantrex-3 Top Fuel hot rod Grubnic, 42, has made seven final-round appearances in his 11-year career but has not yet won an NHRA national event. He won the 2004 Budweiser Shootout special event in Las Vegas.

The Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals was the eighth of 23 national events in the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

LUCAS ADVANCES TO THIRD-PLACE IN NHRA POWERADE POINTS

Morgan Lucas, driver of the Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster, moved up to third place in the NHRA POWERade point standings after his semi-final finish at today’s Pontiac Performance Nationals. He has now accumulated 502 points advancing past, Larry Dixon, who has 497 points and kept chaser, David Grubnic with 479 points, at bay with a win over his Kalitta-based team in the quarterfinals.

Lucas qualified sixth for the race with a time of 4.600 seconds, along with a speed of 321.04 mph and faced Scott Weis in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations.

On that first round pass, Lucas reacted first and made quick work of Weis, motoring past him by improving on his qualifying round time with a 4.566 ET, 324.05 mph pass to Weis’ time of 4.765 seconds, 287.23 mph and thus advancing to the 12th quarterfinal round appearance of his young career racing against Grubnic.

Heading into the race at National Trail Raceway, Lucas had a five-point margin in the Top Fuel standings over Grubnic in a major battle for fourth position. They went head-to-head for the third time in Lucas’ drag racing career with Morgan dominating the run on the quarter-mile and coming out victorious, running his quickest elapsed time of the weekend clicking the clocks to the tune of 4.556 seconds, 323.19 mph to Grubnic’s tire-smoking time of 10.959 seconds, 76.19 mph.

Lucas had an opportunity to stop current POWERade points leader, Doug Kalitta’s progression with his match up in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, when the lights went green his Lucas Oil dragster suddenly lost power leaving him helpless to combat a possible pedaling contest. Kalitta struggled to get down the track after losing traction almost immediately, which gave Lucas’ opponent a time of 4.989 seconds, 306.53 mph to Morgan’s time of 17.070 seconds, 36.60 mph.

“We pretty much had them covered, the car was running great,” said a smiling, but disappointed Lucas. “The driveshaft was right on target, according to the computer ready to set low ET of the race. A little screw broke on the front of the blower and hung the intake valve open causing a backfire.

“There’s a horseshoe full of luck and unfortunately our pit hasn’t seen it this year, but I’m sure it will. When it does come by, we hope we can capitalize on it by winning the race and getting us back in the points chase. After this race, we are 182 points out, and although that’s a pretty big stretch, the summer races are coming up and they all aren’t going to be overcast like today. I’ll tell you what; there are three Kalitta cars and only one of us. We’re like the Mighty Mouse of the situation. Overall, we’re going to be just fine. They don’t run as well in the heat as we do. We tested in Atlanta last week and found a great hot track combination. Once the heat gets here, we’ll be all right.”

Another motivating factor for Lucas was his desire to defend his predecessor’s last win in the Top Fuel division, honoring Darrell Russell’s name at National Trail Raceway by replicating Russell’s dramatic win in Columbus last year. That was deep in his thoughts the entire weekend.

“We always do, he’s in our hearts all the time,” stated Lucas. “We have to do what we have to do to win a race for him. We know he would help us anyway, he can. Things like that happened to us today, you can’t control them. You know what, if anybody would say, that’s drag racing; it would be him.”

Loss of Traction Leads to David Baca's Loss at Columbus

An unexpected loss of traction and a puff of tire smoke slowed David Baca's Baca Motorsports Top Fuel dragster Sunday in the opening round of the Pontiac Performance Nationals at National Trail Raceway, leading to an upset win by Jack Beckman.

"I definitely didn't expect that," said Baca, who qualified fourth to Beckman's 13th. "We were driving away (to the win) when the tires came loose."

Although the Brentwood, Calif., driver tried to recover by pedaling the throttle, he still lost momentum. That, in turn, enabled Beckman to speed past, winning in 4.911 seconds at 292.08 mph to Baca's 5.439 at 180.69 mph.

"I could've done a better job of pedaling," Baca added. "because (the tires) didn't hook up again."

Baca registered his best weekend time of 4.5689 seconds in Friday qualifying as co-tuners Dennis Baca, David's dad, and Larry Meyer continued working in the clutch area to find consistent tune-ups. It is an on-going process that will continue when the team moves to Topeka, Kan., for the O'Reilly Summer Nationals, May 27-29.

Baca held onto 10th place in POWERade Series points with 310.

BECKMAN ENJOYS ANOTHER SOLID RACE IN COLUMBUS

Two races into his Top Fuel career, “Fast Jack” Beckman is still batting .500. Beckman and the Menards/Mail Terminal Services Top Fuel team raced to a round two finish at the 41st annual Pontiac Performance Nationals at National Trail Raceway on Sunday, duplicating the results of his debut in Las Vegas last month. Beckman’s record in Top Fuel eliminations now stands at 2-2.

Beckman qualified 13th, then upset No. 4 qualifier David Baca in round one.
The Menards/MTS dragster trailed Baca at the start, and then rallied to take
the win with a 4.91 second elapsed time at 292 miles-per-hour after Baca
slowed.

Following a hurried thrash to replace a damaged engine, Beckman returned for round two where he smoked the tires against reigning NHRA POWERade Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher, who blasted to a 4.51 at a track record speed of 334.51 miles per hour.

“We struggled a bit to try and get a handle on the track this weekend, but
overall I’d say the Menards/MTS team had a pretty solid weekend,” said
Beckman, the 2003 NHRA Super Comp national champion. “In the first round, I could see that David was starting to pull away from me but I wasn’t about to
give up. A 4.91 wasn’t pretty, but anytime the win light is on in your lane
it’s a good thing.”

With rain in the forecast, NHRA shortened the turnaround time for
professional competitors to just 65 minutes instead of the usual 75. That
made things difficult for crew chief Jimmy Walsh and the rest of the
Menards/MTS team as they rushed to finish the engine change.

“From the time we pulled back in our pit area after the first round to the
time we ran Tony was just over an hour,” said Beckman. “They were still
strapping me in the car on the starting line. If we had been the first pair
out instead of the fourth, we would not have made it.

“Even though I smoked the tires against Tony, I’m proud of our team for
getting the car to the starting line. We learned a lot from that, and will
be even better that next time. Our next race in Joliet should be interesting
because that’s one of the fastest tracks on the tour and I believe we’ll be
able to make our first 4.50 runs there.”

The next appearance for the Menards/MTS Top Fuel team will be the
8th annual CARQEST Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., June 9-12.

Herbert takes out the top qualifier in round one

The day started out real well. Doug Herbert drove
the Snap-on Tools dragster to a first round victory over the No. 1
qualifier, Larry Dixon, Sunday at the Pontiac Performance NHRA
Nationals.

Herbert drove the Snap-on dragster to a 4.629-second pass at 327.19 mph
to beat Dixon's 4.873 at 279.90.

"The first round was great," Herbert, a two-time winner at Columbus,
said. "They made a mistake and we took advantage of it this time. That
doesn’t always happen and we are happy it went our way today.

"We gained some ground in the point standings and that 's what we need
to be doing at this point in the season. That run was especially nice
because we didn't make it down the track during qualifying, so it was
important to have a smooth run in the books before we head off to the
next event."

The excitement was limited to the first round as Herbert lost to
Brandon Bernstein in the second round. Herbert's dragster smoked the
tires almost immediately.

"We really need to get this car figured out," Herbert said. "We can't
make a great run in the first round and turn around and smoke them in
next round. We just don't have the consistency that we need to be
competitive."

The 600th round of eliminations not as Cory Mac envisioned

Competing in his 600th round of eliminations today, Cory McClenathan did not have the outcome he envisioned at the 41st annual NHRA Pontiac Performance Nationals presented by Summit Racing,

Up against Brandon Bernstein in the opening round, McClenathan gained a very small advantage at the green light but has to pedal the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster and that move allowed Bernstein to pull away to the win.

Bernstein recorded an elapsed time of 4.608 seconds to 4.853 for Cory Mac.

“I saw my 600th round going a lot different. First and foremost, I envisioned the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog car crossing the finish line first with me winning. Guess I was in the wrong dream. In reality, Bernstein had the better car today and he got to the finish line first, not me,” said McClenathan.

“We’ll pick up and head to the next race. Todd (Smith, crew chief) and the guys will regroup and we’ll continue to try and win races and gain POWERade points. We’re not out of this thing by any means.”

McClenathan leaves the Pontiac Performance Nationals seventh in the Top Fuel point chase and now has accumulated 429 points.

Next up for Cory Mac and Carrier Boyz Racing is the O’Reilly Auto Parts Summer Nationals over the Memorial Day holiday weekend at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kan., the capital of the great state of Kansas. Then, after a week off, the series begins back-to-back-to-back races in Chicago -- Joliet, Ill. (June 9-12), Englishtown, N.J. (June 16-19) and St. Louis – Madison, Ill. (June 24-26).

DIXON POSTS FIRST-ROUND FINISH AT COLUMBUS

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion (2002-03) Larry Dixon, who claimed his first low qualifier award of the season, raced to a first-round finish Sunday at National Trail Raceway.

Dixon, who recorded his 24th career No. 1 qualifying position on Saturday, used the best reaction time of the opening round (.073 of-a-second) to race to the early lead over first-round opponent Doug Herbert before the Miller Lite rail lost traction, allowing Herbert’s dragster to race around to earn the round win. Dixon’s Miller Lite/Ameriquest dragster recorded a time of 4.873 seconds at 279.90 mph, while Herbert used a run of 4.629 at 327.19. It was Herbert’s quickest run of the weekend.

“The track got better and that was evident because everyone was running better,” assistant crew chief Don Bender said. “We didn’t have time to make enough adjustments to counter that and it wore the clutch out and smoked the tires.”

Dixon’s Miller Lite team will service the dragster at National Trail Raceway on Monday, before making the drive west on I-70 to compete at the 18th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals, May 26-29, at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kan. Dixon won the Topeka race in 2003.

Columbus - Saturday

DIXON DRIVES MILLER LITE RAIL TO NO. 1 SPOT AT COLUMBUS

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon raced his Miller Lite dragster to its first No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at National Trail Raceway after the 36-time NHRA winner recorded a qualifying-best pass of 4.510 seconds at a track record speed of 331.94 mph.

After blasting the Miller Lite/Ameriquest dragster to the head of the Top Fuel order on Friday afternoon, when Dixon’s rail posted the fastest speed (331.94 mph) in the history of National Trail Raceway, the 36-time NHRA winner drove to the quickest elapsed time of Saturday’s first qualifying session when he stopped the timers in 4.531 seconds at 328.86 mph.

Dixon also recorded the quickest elapsed time of the fourth and final qualifying session at the historic central Ohio drag strip when the three-time National Trail Raceway winner (2001-2003) powered the Miller Lite/Lucas Oil dragster to a run of 4.536 at 327.90 to remain first in the Top Fuel ladder. It is the 24th No. 1 qualifying award of Dixon’s career and first since the Brainerd, Minn. race in August 2003.

“It’s a nice feeling to make three good runs during qualifying,” Dixon said. “The sun came out on Saturday and sort of leveled the playing field. I was surprised that our 4.51 from Friday held up. I thought that someone would step up in the first session. Dicko (Dick LaHaie) is on his game this weekend.”

Dixon will battle No. 16 qualifier Doug Herbert in the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations on Sunday at the Ohio race track. Dixon is 20-5 in his career versus the second generation Top Fuel racer from North Carolina.

David Baca's 4.568-second Run Holds for No. 4 Starting Position

David Baca opened qualifying Friday with his quickest run, 4.568 seconds at 324.83 mph, in the Baca Motorsports Top Fuel dragster and it put him fourth on the starting ladder for Sunday's Pontiac Performance Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

The evening run was one of a few quality performances on a suddenly uncooperative quarter-mile track. Weather conditions had gone from rainy to damp to nearly ideal from afternoon to night.

"We learned a lot last weekend at Atlanta (where he finished second) that we were able to apply here," said Baca, of Brentwood, Calif. "That was a great way to start qualifying. We're learning something new on every run. We skipped the Friday night run because we didn't feel we could learn anything.

"We want to go some rounds Sunday. We were tuning to the warmer weather conditions to see what the car would do in the heat on our two Saturday runs. On our last run, the car was running well but the blower belt broke and that took care of that."

Baca, 10th in POWERade Series points, squares off against Jack Beckman in Sunday's first round of eliminations.

After qualifying No. 9, the 600th round of eliminations coming up for McClenathan

With qualifying complete for this year’s NHRA Pontiac Performance Nationals presented by Summit Racing, Cory McClenathan, driver of the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster, turned a pass of 4.698 seconds down the National Trail Raceway quarter-mile into a No. 9 position on the final qualifying ladder.

“Track conditions interrupted our consistency during qualifying and we only went from point A to point B on our first run on Friday,” said McClenathan. “Crew chief Todd Smith and clutch specialists Bob Bauer will put their heads together and come up with a game plan for the FRAM AirHog and we’ll be able to go after them tomorrow.”

McClenathan will pair off against Brandon Bernstein in the opening round in the morning. Bernstein qualified No. 8 with a run of 4.632 seconds at 323.97 mph

Now qualified, when McClenathan squares off against Bernstein in the opening round of eliminations he will be competing in his 600th round of Top Fuel competition.

“My 600th round, it’s exciting,” reflected McClenathan. “I remember back when they were talking about John (Force) getting his 900th round win. I don’t have 900 rounds wins but I guess 600 rounds means I’m old and been out here a long time. At the same time it’s kind of cool to know that we been out here long enough to get 600 rounds under our belt. I looking forward to it and am hoping my 600th will be a win over Brandon (Bernstein).”

Of the previous 599 rounds of eliminations that the Lake Havasu City, Ariz., driver has competed in, he has won 364 times for a winning percentage of 61-percent in a Top Fuel career that began in 1991.

During that span McClenathan has been to the Top Fuel final round 47 times, winning 28. Of his 28 career wins, one has come at National Trail Raceway. McClenathan defeated Larry Dixon here in 1996.

Herbert aiming to be the first 16th seed to post a victory this season

None of the winners in this early NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing season have won a race from the No. 16 qualifying spot so
far. If there is a time to be a trendsetter, now is as good a time as
any other.

Karen Stoffer won the Houston Pro Stock Motorcycle event from the No.
15 spot, the furthest down the ladder a winner has qualified. Doug
Herbert has the No. 16 spot going into the final eliminations for the
Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway, and he's
looking to be the first 16th seed to go rounds.

"Being the No. 16 qualifier isn't exactly where you want to be going in
to Sunday's eliminations, but at least we're qualified," Herbert, a
two-time Columbus winner (1993, '99), said. "Sometimes you can learn a
lot from the runs that don't stick, so hopefully we will be ready for
first round tomorrow.

"Just because no one has been able to win from the 16th spot this
season doesn't mean it's impossible. There is a reason why we come out
here to race and it's to be competitive and see what can happen."

Still Herbert was disappointed with the qualifying sessions. The best
run for the Snap-on Tools dragster was a 5.015-second pass at 299.80
mph.

"Qualifying on Saturday is so important because the conditions are
usually pretty similar to what we see on Sunday," Herbert said. "It is
important to get the data and I'm hoping we got the tire-smoking runs
out of our system."

"THE SARGE" GRABS FIFTH STARTING SPOT IN TOP FUEL

U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher posted two solid qualifying passes here Saturday to climb to the
fifth starting position for tomorrow's running of the Pontiac Performance
Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

After failing to get down the track on Friday, Schumacher came back
with runs of 4.601-seconds at 314.24 mph and 4.578-seconds at 319.75 and as
a result moved from 10th in the order to fifth.

"It was a good day for the U.S. Army team," said the Chicago native.
"We needed to get two nice passes in before Sunday. You never want to go
into race day with a bad taste in your mouth."

The 2004 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world champion will face 12th-place
qualifier, T.J. Zizzo, in the first round of eliminations beginning at 11
a.m. EDT. It will be an all-Illinois battle as Zizzo is also a Chicago-area
native/resident.

"I've known T.J. for years," added Schumacher. "He's a good driver
and they have a capable team over there. We can't take anything for granted,
that's for sure."

Columbus - Friday

DIXON POWERS MILLER LITE DRAGSTER TO PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITION AT COLUMBUS

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon blistered the National Trail Raceway quarter mile with a performance of 4.510 seconds at 331.94 mph on Friday’s opening qualifying pass to claim the provisional No. 1 qualifying position at the 41st annual Pontiac Performance Nationals.

Dixon, a three-time National Trail Raceway winner and 36-time NHRA Top Fuel winner, used a tune-up from veteran crew chief Dick LaHaie to power to the 4.510, 331.94 effort on Friday’s first qualifying attempt. Dixon’s speed was the fastest ever recorded at National Trail Raceway.

“It feels good to get the car qualified solidly in the show,” Dixon said. “That will definitely keep us qualified. On Saturday, we’ll work on a race day setup. We had the car setup for a certain track temperature on Friday night, but the track cooled off rapidly. I guess if it was race day, we would have made an educated guess and hoped that the car hooked up and went down the track.
Luckily, it was qualifying and we weren’t faced with that.”

With the track temperature at 61 degrees and with the entire Top Fuel category struggling to make it down the race track, the LaHaie-led Miller Lite/Ameriquest crew elected not to make an attempt during Friday’s second qualifying session.

“We didn’t have the correct tune-up for the track conditions,” assistant crew chief Don Bender said. “The track temperature was 61 degrees. We had the car setup for a track temp in the 70s.”

Dixon and Don Prudhomme’s Miller Lite/Lucas Oil team aim to claim it first top qualifying position since August, 16 2003, when Dixon grabbed the top spot at Brainerd International Raceway. Dixon has recorded 23 No. 1 qualifying positions in his career.

SCHUMACHER 10th AFTER FIRST DAY

Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher directed his U.S.
Army Top Fuel dragster to the 10th starting spot after the first day of qualifying here Friday for the Pontiac Performance Nationals at National
Trail Raceway.

Battling cold track temperatures, Schumacher had two tire-smoking
passes but still managed to make the 16-car field.

"Actually, that's pretty amazing," he said. "We just couldn't get past 60 feet. The track was unbelievably challenging. Most of the Top Fuel
cars had problems today.

"With the sun due out tomorrow, I'm hopeful the grip will be better
and that we'll be able to make a couple of full passes and move up in the
order."

Schumacher came into the eighth race of the year second in the Top
Fuel standings, 60 points behind leader Doug Kalitta.

Herbert qualifies in top half of the field at Columbus

Doug Herbert didn't make it down the track in one quick, smooth run Friday at the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at
National Trail Raceway. Still, he's qualified in the No. 6 position.

The rest of the field didn't do so well either.

"It rained for a long time before the first pro session and then it just got too cold," the driver of the Snap-on Tools dragster said. "The
track couldn't hold those conditions. Only four cars made a decent pass
all day and not a single car made it down the track in the second
session. That's just not a good day of drag racing."

Herbert has won this event twice in the past (1993, '99) and is aiming
to make up for the lackluster performance Friday sooner rather than
later.

"Hopefully the track and the weather will be ready for us tomorrow and
we can give the fans a great show and make up for today," Herbert said.
"We’ve done well at this track in the past and I don't see why we can't
continue that streak."

Herbert and the Snap-on Tools dragster turned in a 7.499-second pass at
135.97 mph to take the No. 6 spot. Qualifying continues Saturday with
two sessions starting at 11:30 a.m.

Columbus - Preview

The 600th round of eliminations coming up for Cory Mac

Once qualified, when the opening round of eliminations begins for the 41st annual NHRA Pontiac Performance Nationals presented by Summit Racing, Cory McClenathan, who drives the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Top Fuel dragster, will be competing in his 600th round of Top Fuel competition.

Of the previous 599 rounds of eliminations that the Lake Havasu City, Ariz., driver has competed in, he has won 364 times for a winning percentage of 61-percent in a Top Fuel career that began in 1991.

During that span McClenathan has been to the final round 47 times, winning 28. He currently stands fifth on the all time Top Fuel win list and is second among active full time Top Fuel drivers currently campaigning on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. He also has four wins in the sportsman ranks driving an alcohol dragster.

“It been a long and some times hard road getting to number 600, but it has been fun,” said McClenathan, who also has 29 No. 1 qualifying positions to his credit. “My goal growing up was to be a race car driver and I wouldn’t change the last 599 opportunities that I’ve had to race the best drag racers in the world. I hope to be doing this for quite a few years to come.”

McClenathan’s drag racing career began at age 16 behind the wheel of Volkswagen-powered race cars, winning the first three races he entered. During his first three seasons as a professional he drove the family-owned Mac Attack dragster. He then drove for a who’s-who list of owners and currently drives for Andy and Mark Carrier.

“I want to thank so many people for giving me opportunities all along the way. I wouldn’t be anywhere without the love and support of my dad, mom, sister and family. They started it all and gave up much so that I could race. Then came all those great owners that I drove for – Larry Minor, Joe Gibbs, David Baca and Rick Henkelman, and Darrell and Jerry Gwynn. And currently, I’ve found a home with Carrier Boyz Racing – brothers Andy and Mark Carrier and their mom and dad, Shirley and Larry. Drag racing is truly a family sport,” reflected McClenathan.

Of his 28 career wins, one has come at National Trail Raceway. McClenathan defeated Larry Dixon in 1996.

McClenathan, with 397 points, enters the Pontiac Performance Nationals No. 6 in the POWERade Top Fuel point standings, just 26 points out of the top five and 62 behind third.

Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta heads "home" to Columbus after back-to-back NHRA victories

Ann Arbor, Mich., native Doug Kalitta, driver of the bright red and black flame-decorated Mac Tools flagship Top Fuel dragster, took over the championship points lead for only the second time in his drag racing career with his visit to the winner's circle in Bristol, Tenn., May 1. Two weeks later, at the next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event in Atlanta, he again took the title trophy to earn consecutive event wins and lengthen his points lead over second place holder Tony Schumacher.

This weekend, May 19-22, at the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals in
Columbus, Ohio, the home of his sponsor Mac Tools' corporate headquarters,
Doug and his red rocket rail plan to traverse the quarter-mile drag strip at
National Trail Raceway four more round-winning times in an effort to win
three straight NHRA national events.

"We're on quite a hot streak right now," Doug said. "It's a great feeling
especially since now we're going into Columbus. We always get a great crowd of Mac Tools staff and distributors in the stands at Columbus. Their support is awesome for us everywhere, but especially there.

"We need to keep building on this momentum. Keeping the points lead is the
main goal now. Getting by Tony (Schumacher) in the semis in Atlanta was
huge. Winning the race was big, but beating the guy that's right behind you
in points is what we have to keep doing to win the championship. Hopefully
we can keep going rounds in Columbus and keep all of our competitors farther behind us."

With his win over Schumacher in Atlanta's semifinals and by virtue of his
title trophy at that event, Doug extended his points lead to 60. Considering
that Doug made first-round departures at the first two national events of
2005 (Pomona 1 and Phoenix) and dropped to ninth place in points, it is a
remarkable accomplishment by the Mac Tools team that he is now atop the
championship points standings.

Doug was low qualifier in Columbus in 2003. His best finishes at National
Trail Raceway were semi-final round appearances in 2003 and 2004.

Doug has won three events (Gainesville, Bristol and Atlanta) so far in the
first seven events of 2005. He has been in four of the last five final
rounds (Gainesville, Las Vegas 1, Bristol and Atlanta). He has yet to win
three consecutive NHRA events in his career. The only other time that he won
back-to-back events was in 2002, Chicago 2 and Dallas. The only other time
that he led in the championship points standings was entering the Denver
event last season.

Two-time Top Fuel championship points runner-up (2003-2004) Doug, 40, is an eight-year Top Fuel veteran with 22 career NHRA wins in 44 final-round
appearances. He is a former USAC National Sprint Car Champion (1994). He holds the time slips for the quickest (4.420 sec., Chicago 1 - 2004) and the fastest (335.57 mph, Las Vegas 1 - 2004) runs in NHRA history. He won the 1998 Auto Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner for NHRA rookie excellence.

Scott Kalitta encouraged about Columbus NHRA event after Atlanta testing

Mac Tools/Jesse James Top Fuel dragster driver Scott Kalitta has had his share of hard times lately on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series tour. After winning the 2005 season opener in Pomona, Calif., Scott and his 7,000 + horsepower, nitro-fueled race car have managed to win only two rounds in final eliminations in the six national events contested since his great start. His team's woes have dropped them to eighth in Top Fuel championship points.

This weekend, May 19-22, at the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals in
Columbus, Ohio, the home of his sponsor Mac Tools' corporate headquarters, Scott and his colorfully striped and black hot rod are planning a return to glory at National Trail Raceway after a successful test Monday at Atlanta Dragway following the event held there this past weekend.

"This has been a nightmare," Scott said. "We've been doing everything we
thought we could to make our car come back around, but it just hasn't wanted
to. It has been horribly frustrating for all of us on our team.

"We stayed in Atlanta to test, and I'm really encouraged with what happened.
We basically clean-slated everything and went to a combination we thought we could get a better baseline from, and it responded well. We made a great lap on a hot track, near 130 degrees, of 4.59 (seconds) at 326 (mph). We made some changes to that tune-up to try to get a better launch, and it did what we told it to do on the next lap. The track conditions weren't as good on
that lap, and it lost traction about three seconds in, but it still had
better numbers early, and that's what we were hoping for.

"It's almost like a new race car now. We've been really struggling to keep
our heads up, but our whole team was encouraged after the test. We're all
looking forward to Columbus now to see what we can do there."

Scott and his Mac Tools/Jesse James team should be encouraged to return to Columbus. In the event's 34-year history at National Trail Raceway, Scott
has won the Top Fuel title twice, in 1994 and 1995. He was No. 1 qualifier
for three years straight, 1993-1995. He also holds the track record for
speed at 330.39 mph (2004).

Two-time Top Fuel World Champion (1994-1995) and Snead Island, Fla.,
resident Scott, 43, has 17 (16 Top Fuel, 1 Funny Car) NHRA national event
victories in his 24-year career. His career-best elapsed time is 4.455 sec.,
and his career-best speed is 333.95 mph.

DIXON LOOKING FORWARD TO ANNUAL TRIP TO HISTORIC COLUMBUS TRACK

Long before Larry Dixon was a two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion and one of the most decorated racers in drag racing’s rich history, the Southern California native was a quarter mile racing fan and historian. The second generation racer grew up attending drag races nationwide at places like National Trail Raceway with his father, Larry Dixon Sr., who also raced Top Fuel dragsters.

“My dad only raced at Columbus a few times, but I remember being there in 1976 when Shirley (Muldowney) won her first Top Fuel race,” Dixon said.

“That win turned her into a real threat and she won her first championship the next year. She went on to really make a name for herself.”
Dixon has done quite well establishing an identity for himself behind the wheel of Don Prudhomme’s Miller Lite dragster over the past decade, racing to 36 career victories and consecutive series titles in 2002-03. Three of Dixon’s 36 wins have come at the historic quarter mile near Columbus, Ohio. Dixon aims to make it four wins in the Buckeye State and equal Muldowney for the most career Top Fuel victories at National Trail Raceway when the NHRA POWERade Series makes its annual visit to Ohio, May 19-22, for the 41st annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals. Dixon and two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Gary Beck have both earned three career wins at the Columbus track.

“The older races, like Columbus, are certainly more special to win then some of the races that have only been around a few years,” Dixon said. “I think because the media puts more emphasis on winning those races.”

For many years the annual NHRA event in Ohio was known as the Springnationals and was held each June. You heard the word Springnationals, you knew people were referring to Columbus. This year, the Columbus race was moved up one month and will now be contested in mid-May, which should present the drivers and crew chiefs with different race conditions than the usual hot, humid race conditions they’re used to battling.

“Time will tell how it plays out,” Dixon said. “We’ve never run the race that early. I know it rains a lot in June, but I can’t imagine it raining any less in May. The temperatures might be cooler than what we’re used to and if so, we could see some fast times this year.”

SCHUMACHER SEEKS TRIP TO WINNER'S CIRCLE

U.S. Army NHRA driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher has one simple goal in mind here this weekend in the Pontiac Performance Nationals at National
Trail Raceway - to get to victory lane.

Schumacher, who drives the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, has been
winless since the Houston race in early April.

After dropping a close semifinal race to Doug Kalitta last weekend at Atlanta Dragway, Schumacher feels it's time to take it up a couple of notches.

"We need to get back to our winning ways," said the Chicago native.
"We performed well last weekend with seven nice passes (four qualifying
passes and three elimination runs), but we still came up empty-handed. In
the end, that's what you look at."

The defending NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world champion appears to like
National Trail Raceway, which is located just east of Columbus. He has a win
(2000) and two other final round appearances to his credit.

"I like that track," he added. "Really, the best thing is that Alan
Johnson likes the track. That's critical when a crew chief is comfortable at
a particular venue. Listen, we're ready to do battle this weekend, that's
all there is to it."

Schumacher heads for National Trail Raceway holding second-place in
the Top Fuel standings, 60 points behind leader Doug Kalitta.

BUDWEISER/LUCAS OIL TEAM HOPING TO KEEP GROWING PERFORMANCE MOMENTUM

Second generation driver Brandon Bernstein holds the elapsed time track record at National Trail Raceway. He set the 4.489-second mark en route to the No. 1 qualifying position at last year’s Pontiac Performance Nationals.
“We hope to be able to take a run at some good numbers when we return this year,” said Bernstein as he heads into this year’s May 20-22 event. “Recently we’ve been fortunate to have set some good performance marks. At Bristol we were the No. 1 qualifier and set low elapsed time and top speed of the event.

“That shows us we are in the hunt and have the capability to win some rounds,” continued the driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster. “This team is hungry for a victory.

“Typically this race is challenging from a weather standpoint. Very often we don’t get the full compliment of four qualifying runs because we’re plagued with rain. This means every run down the quarter-mile has to count and the crew chiefs don’t get much margin for error.

“With the date change this year perhaps we’ll be o