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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -

DEJORIA TURNS PITY PARTY INTO FUNNY CAR WIN No. 2 - Alexis DeJoria opened eliminations at the Summitracing.com NHRA Nationals as the No. 12 qualifier, and just two races after a monumental first win, she opted to go the route of a pity party. On top of the pity party was the daunting task of facing Matt Hagan in the first round.

“I just needed to get past that first round,” admitted DeJoria.

Round by round, the pity party became a distant memory until she ended up in the winners circle.

“It was definitely a great day at the office,” said DeJoria. “To get the win for the Patron Spirits company, which is based out here in Las Vegas, is huge. We made it to the semis here at this track several times, but never got any further.

“Just one round at a time, and I was hoping and hoping, trying to get out of that rut we had in Gainesville, and sure enough we kept going rounds. Kept my head down and tried to stay focused and tried to leave better, but that didn’t happen. Luckily my team gave me a great car. It got us down the track first.”

Deloris’s second win of the season came at the expense of a familiar foe. Her first victory last month, during the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals was also over Robert Hight. She is undefeated against Hight throughout her career with four round wins.

“I wasn’t so sure I could keep the streak intact on this run,” said DeJoria. “I knew he was gunning for us and it was a grudge race from Phoenix. What a great team [they have]. His daughter and my daughter have played together for a long time. At the end of the day, we’re families.”

DeJoria had no ducks on race day, facing four past NHRA champions, and ending with Hight.

“Tough competitor, tough team,” she said. “All the rounds were tough. First round was tough against Matt Hagan, a helluva competitor. I had my work cut out for me and I cannot thank my team enough. They’ve done so good.”

DeJoria’s Patron XO Café-sponsored Toyota benefitted from the help of the other Kalitta Motorsports teams eliminated earlier in competition. Kalitta Motorsports put two nitro teams in the finals, with Doug Kalitta finishing runner-up in Top Fuel.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get a double mosh-pit today,” DeJoria said. “But, we did put two cars in the finals. That was good.”

Winning in Phoenix made winning this time a bit easier for DeJoria and her team.

“I always felt we could win,” said DeJoria. “Those guys have always worked so hard. It is so frustrating when you would go out first round, and not do well over and over. I tried to uplift everyone and keep them on the same page, keep them uplifted and motivated, by letting them know how much I appreciate of what they do every day and the time they are away from their families. To be out here and dedicate themselves to this race car is a big deal.”

And now, winning in the end, is a big deal no matter how ugly the day might start.

SCHUMACHER EARNS 73RD TOP FUEL VICTORY - Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher will go home to Long Grove, Ill., from Las Vegas and scoot around some of his 72 Wally statues on his trophy-room shelves to make room for Sunday’s prize from the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

And he won’t lament the 315 that he doesn’t have. He knows they sit on the shelves of many of his competitors. He’s content with that, for when he finds just the right spot for No. 73, he’ll place it there with a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

“When the trophy sits on the shelf, you truly have earned it,” Schumacher said after defeating points leader Doug Kalitta in the final round at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

He’ll hoist that trophy and remember his final-round battle with Kalitta – “I could hear him the whole way,” he said. He’ll shake his head at the 12-thousandth-of-a-second victory on the 1,000-foot course, the difference between his 3.797-second, 326.16-mph blast in the U.S. Army Dragster and Kalitta’s 3.814, 321.12 in the Mac Tools Dragster that has been the hottest in the class so far this season.

He’ll stand back and eye that statue on that shelf and think about how it got there. He’ll think about grinding his way past Troy Buff, and then Don Schumacher Racing mates Spencer Massey and Antron Brown, to reach his first final since defeating Clay Millican last June at Joliet, Ill.

He might turn around for one last peek at it as he leaves the room and recall problems with his parachute on one run and the round in which he lurched down the track, pedaling unnecessarily, against a toasted Massey. He’ll smile when he remembers it’s his eighth victory at this racetrack – the most by any NHRA professional racer – in 11 final-round appearances.

In time he probably won’t think about how the victory lifted him in the standings from eighth place to fourth. But he’ll know that it denied Kalitta a double-up victory for his Uncle Connie’s Kalitta Motorsports team after Alexis DeJoria won the Funny Car final.

But he’ll remember always the lesson.

It’s one he shared again, one that goes way beyond drag racing.  

“The kids who hear day in and day out from their teachers that everybody wins and gets a trophy, I’m here to tell you that’s not the case, man. You’ve got to earn this. There’s other great people. It’s a monster battle. This is the best of the best in the fastest class in the United States and the world. You’re asking teams to do things that are miraculous. You’ve got to earn it,” Schumacher said.

“For those kids who are hearing that, I’m here to tell you: They’re not telling you the truth. [If] the win light doesn’t come on, they don’t give you a trophy anyway,” he said. “I have 73 trophies on my shelf right now. But I’ve been in almost 400 races. So if that’s the case, where are the rest of my trophies?  Where’s all the money? It’s just not a fact. You’ve got to earn this stuff.”

His and wife Cara’s children – Anthony, Michael, and Jacqueline – understand that concept.

“That everybody-gets-a-trophy nonsense, we just don’t teach that at home,” Schumacher said. “To me, I think you raise weakness [otherwise]. I understand that they’re all sad if they don’t win. You know what? When they go to get their first job and the guy says no, they’re going to go, ‘Wait- no-no-no-no-no – My teacher said we all win.’ That just isn’t how it is. When the win light doesn’t come on, they don’t give you the trophy anyways for trying extra hard.

“I think to create great people and a great nation, you’ve got to explain that these people have to earn it. You have to earn the job. You have to earn the right to keep the job. And you’ve got to earn your paycheck,” he said.    

This victory is just the first step on the road back to dominance for Schumacher.

“I’m not angry that we haven’t won in a long time. I’m disappointed when we don’t win, like everybody else. But I understand what the outcome has to be,” he said. “We have to take leaps and bounds ahead of these guys. Kalitta’s running amazing. Antron’s phenomenal. There’s a lot great teams. You can’t count out Alan Johnson’s teams. They’re going to be bad to the bone soon. We’re going to keep forcing the issue and make this car work.”

Schumacher is nothing if not a gladiator who invites stress and do-or-die moments. However, he knows that’s in large measure because of crew chief Mike Green, assistant crew chief Neal Strasbaugh, and car chief Ryan McGilvry, 15-year Don Schumacher Racing veteran Thomas Turkel – and crew members Mark Warnick, Michael Vendely, Narciso Bravo, Jeremy Ivey, and Wes Barber.

“I love the pressure. I try to put it on me every time. Feeling the pressure is fantastic. Some people are really good under pressure and drive better. Some people aren’t,” Schumacher said. “I’m happy that I have nine guys that I look out of my visor and are so good at pressure and so good at this situation that it makes it a little easier on me.

“I joke about it all the time. But if opened up my visor and looked out and saw my five high-school friends working on my car I’d get out. They’re not the right people to do this. They’re great for going out and laughing with at a movie. But not working on a Top Fuel car,” he said. “We need the best of the best. That’s what I get to see every time I look out of my visor.”     

Even with all the downs, Schumacher said he can remember when his U.S. Army Dragster team had so many triumphant moments they took winning for granted.

“I’ve had a season when we’ve won 15 races. To have such a tough, tough season like we did last year and even the start of this year, you definitely start to wonder, ‘When are we going to win one of these things?’ But I guarantee you that at the celebration and in the photos we’ll all be smiling. There was a time when we won 15 and you hear your crew go, ‘Just use something from the archives.’ And you’ve lost the luster of winning. So it’s so great right now. I think it’s going to inspire the guys,” he said.

Kalitta, who won here 10 years ago, will remain the points leader as the series heads to Charlotte and mixes up the racing-program format with the Four-Wide Nationals. He was making his third final-round appearance in this year’s four races and seeking his second victory.

ENDERS-STEVENS MAKES HISTORY WITH DOUBLE-UP VICTORY - Erica Enders-Stevens has had some impressive weekends throughout her career but she’ll be challenged to top the one she had during the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.

Not only did Enders-Stevens drive the Elite Performance-sponsored Camaro to the $50,000-to-win K&N Horsepower Challenge title Saturday but also followed up the monumental triumph with the event win Sunday, securing another $50K. The victory also enabled Enders-Stevens to become the first female driver to ever lead the Pro Stock standings regardless of sanction.

Enders-Stevens and final-round opponent Jason Line both recorded .034 reaction times but at the stripe she pulled out the win with a 6.612 elapsed time at 208.78 miles per hour. Line was close with a losing 6.633, 208.23.

“It’s hard not to be emotional for this [win],” said Enders-Stevens, who won with her second quickest run of the weekend. “God has blessed me immensely. He continues to do so and I give Him all the glory.

“My guys … they’re it. They gave me an awesome race car all day.”

Enders-Stevens seemed unfazed by the long day of eliminations, which for the Pro Stockers didn’t begin until 4 p.m. PST., due to high winds and dust accumulating on the racing surface. She opened with a win over Larry Morgan followed by victories over Steve Kent and Chris McGaha.

“We had a lot of wheel speed on that one,” Enders-Stevens said of her final round run. “It shook at the top of low and I pulled second. It went sideways and it shook a little more. I put it in third and thank God, it went down. I saw us pull ahead of him and I couldn’t be more proud of my team.”

Team owner Richard Freeman beamed with excitement on the success of his team with a runner-up and speed record in Gainesville, followed by this weekend’s dominant performance.

“It’s huge and a testament to all of these guys who work for us,” said Freeman. “The engine shop, Nick and Jake, and everybody back home. My whole group is unbelievable.”

THAT BLOWS – The winds started out as a tailwind, but by the time the first round opened it shifted into a crosswind. The windy day produced gusts up to 43 mph, with sustained at 29.

The winds played havoc with the schedule as well, suspending the first round of Pro Stock with sand blowing on the top end making the conditions for these cars dangerous. After a 30 minute delay, the Pro Stockers were sent back to the pits. The Top Alcohol divisions resumed the competition after the delay.

Five hours later the winds subsided and the Pro Stockers finally got their first shot at the track.

THE TEACHER ISN’T ALWAYS RIGHT – Tony Schumacher loves the close, fast and to the line races. They get his adrenaline pumping. However, when the cars go up in smoke and both drivers are pedaling as if they’re riding a ten-speed bicycle, he loves those even more.

Schumacher had one of those races in the second round when beating teammate Spencer Massey. Massey smoked the tires at the hit. Schumacher started pedaling at half-track and kept rolling the throttle all the way through the lights.

“Watching the pair before us, I thought it was going to be a good drag race,” said Schumacher. “And, it probably was. I’ve always said when you have two cars up in smoke it’s so much fun. The crew chiefs do a great job at making the cars go fast. You get out and thank them. When both cars are up in smoke, someone is going to win. That’s it.

“I tell the kids at home, when the teacher tells them everyone gets the trophy I tell them, ‘No, that’s not the truth.’ If the win light comes on, you get the trophy.”

JUST LIKE RIDING A BIKE - On Friday afternoon, veteran journeyman JR Todd was watching the NCAA Basketball tournament. Saturday morning he was preparing for his first run at the NHRA Summitracing.com NHRA Nationals.

Todd hit the ground running with a berth in the field on his first qualifying attempt. Twenty-four hours later, he was in the second round courtesy of a holeshot victory over freshman nitro racer Richard Crampton.

Todd put .084 on Crampton out of the gate and never looked back en route to a 3.822 to 3.837 victory.

“It’s awesome,” said Todd. “Before I got here, I thought to myself there was no way I was going to fit in the car. There’s a big size difference. I’m having a lot of fun, and got a round win, something that has been tough to come by lately. If I wasn’t here, I’d be at a sprint car race back in Brownsburg, Ind., but I’d rather be here.”

The team performed myriad adjustments and Todd fit the cockpit previously occupied by David Grubnic, who is much taller than Todd.

THE REST OF THE STORY – Bob Vandergriff Jr. told ESPN’s Gary Gerould on Sunday, JR Todd is the heir apparent to the seat of his C&J Energy Services dragster.

“We have him for ten races, and nine more of the commitment he’s got to fulfill,” Vandergriff explained. “We wanted to help the Kalittas out, as I hope someone would have helped me.’

Vandergriff admitted the 2014 season was likely his last as a driver.

“I’m 99-percent sure this is my last season driving,” Vandergriff revealed. “We are building our future program with JR Todd and maybe some other driver to take over his car. That’s our plan for right now.

“We’ve got big plans for JR with this program, so he’s not going anywhere.”

OFF ON THE STANKY FOOT – Antron Brown still had some “stank in the tank” during the first round as he set a new Las Vegas track record with a 3.758 elapsed time in taking out Mike Strasburg.

UPSETS ABOUND IN FUNNY CAR – Half of Funny Car’s top-half qualifiers were absent after the first round. No. 2 John Force [Paul Lee], No. 3 Tommy Johnson Jr. [Jack Beckman], No. 4 Del Worsham [Tony Pedregon], and No. 5 Matt Hagan [Alexis DeJoria] were sent packing.

“They’re the greatest team in drag racing and for some reason, I just happened to have the greatest luck against them,” said Lee, who won 4.132 to 4.137. “I don’t know why that is but I will take it.”

Pedregon, who hasn’t won a round since Dallas, said his team has been progressively improving.

“We got off to a tough start at the Winternationals, and we always keep our head up,” said Pedregon. “That was a good win and the air is better now than it was in qualifying. We had a good tune-up for yesterday, but today we had to take a gamble today. I don’t think we pulled it back enough because it stopped pulling at half-track. It must have been that Wix Filter that kept that thing going.”

Pedregon is racing a Wix Filters-themed Funny Car this weekend.

THAT WAS JUST DANDY - Tim Wilkerson saved his best for round one on Sunday. Ron Capps smoked the tires early. Wilkerson’s scoreboard showed the good news, via the numbers 4.087. Capps' scoreboard showed the bad news, with a flashing row of win lights. Wilkerson's -.063 reaction time lit the dreaded red bulb, and this impressive "win" turned into a frustrating loss.

"That was just dandy," said Wilkerson, sarcastically. "I saw plenty of yellow, and I sure wasn't trying to be aggressive on the tree, but it happened and I apologized to my guys for being a dummy. You know, there was a big long oil-down a couple of pairs ahead of us in Top Fuel, and it was one of those deals where they thought it was only going to be five or ten minutes but it stretched out a lot longer than that, and I stayed strapped in the whole time. You get kind of numb being strapped in so tight, and your brain obviously gets a little numb too. My fault, and it's just a shame."

THEY’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO PEDAL – At just a little before 4 PM, PST, the Pro Stockers finally hit the track after a lengthy delay. European champion Jimmy Alund won an on-and-off-the-throttle pass over Vincent Nobile.

Alund, in 7.84 seconds, scored his first NHRA Pro Stock round win.

“I’ve run down some tricky tracks in my life,” Alund said. “I think that helped me today. I pedaled. It shook like crazy and then I jammed it in a gear. I just went for it thinking he would have the same problem.”

Shane Gray didn’t have the same issues as he navigated the Kymco Camaro to a 6.64 elapsed time victory in the very next pair.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES – Last year in Vegas, Allen Johnson could do no wrong. This time around the story was different.

Johnson not only lost in the first round of the K&N Horsepower Challenge but also the first round of Sunday’s delayed eliminations. Steve Kent was the beneficiary of Johnson’s race day misfortune.

Kent, the former Competition eliminator standout, who partners with Rodger Brogdon, scored his first round win of the season by a 6.67 to 6.78 margin.

“We’ve come a long way but believe we are about .02 off of the field,” Kent said. “Every day, every minute, every waking moment working hard to get that deficit closed.”

Johnson said he believes there was breakage which caused him to fall off the pace.

“I dumped the clutch and the thing just died,” said Johnson. “It flooded over, broke a rocker arm or something. I stuck with it for a little while. It just broke something.”

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

TOP FUEL

BROWN’S SECRET? ‘STANK IN THE TANK’ - Antron Brown has a new buzzword: efficiency.

He efficiently trumped Doug Kalitta at the last moment Saturday evening to continue their NHRA qualifying one-upsmanship.

But that wasn’t what he was referring to after registering a 3.768-second elapsed time at 325.14 mph – also a class best – at the SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

He said victories and the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship will go to “not the fastest car but the most efficient car.”

He said, “We want to be efficient. Efficiency pays off.  We just want to be there. We want to run strong each round. So that's our goal this year, to be more efficient. Our deal is we just want to get better week in and week out."

He coined yet another Brown-ism, declaring, “You have to have some stank in the tank.”

Decoding his own message, Brown said, “All the high-powered teams rise to the top. You have to have power.” 

Brown earned his 35th overall top-qualifying position, his first of this season, and his first in the past 13 events (dating back to last September’s U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis).

Fans were paying more attention to Steve Torrence, Friday’s qualifying leader who carried that advantage through Saturday’s first (third overall) session. And they were watching Kalitta, who edged out Torrence in the next-to-last Top Fuel run of the day.

Kalitta emphatically predicted that “Yes!” his 3.775-second elapsed time would hold up. So eyes were on Torrence, who smoked his tires in his last chance to reclaim the lead.

But Brown stole the attention with his pass, which didn’t particularly surprise him. He knew something was up before he staged.

"I saw the ignition box come out, the Matco guys went into the (electronic) management box with the clutch flows, the fuel flows and everything started changing. And I said 'Uh-oh, here we go. This is when it gets good.' “

And it did for Brown, who will face Mike Strasburg in the first round of eliminations.

‘STANK IN THE TANK?’ - Antron Brown, whose nickname could become “The Corradi Kid” because of the killer tune-up crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald have put in his Matco Tools Dragster, has a new buzzword: efficiency.

After Doug Kalitta bumped Steve Torrence from the No. 1 qualifying spot, Brown trumped him on the last pass of pro qualifying with a class-quickest and fastest 3.768-second elapsed time and 325.14 mph.

The trick, Brown said, is to remember that the Top Fuel victories and the championship will go to “not the fastest car but the most efficient car.” He said, “We want to be efficient. Efficiency pays off.”

In his unique “Antron Brownish” lingo, he declared, “You have to have some stank in the tank.”

In decoding his own message, Brown said, “All the high-powered teams rise to the top. You have to have power.”  

PALMER DISQUALIFIED - Top Fuel driver Scott Palmer was disqualified Saturday from the event following his third oildown this weekend. All of his runs at this event have been voided. Graham Light, NHRA senior vice-president of racing operations, and the NHRA Tech Committee will review Palmer’s situation Monday morning to determine if further punitive action will be taken.

Palmer’s engine detonated in the fourth and final session, scattering parts and pieces and splattering fluids on the racing surface.

While Light called a third such incident “excessive” and “unacceptable,” he said, “I feel so bad for him. Scott’s a good guy. Those [shoestring] racers are as important to the NHRA as John Force. We need those lesser-funded teams. We need those regional racers. I feel bad for those teams when they struggle. I know how costly it is.” He said Palmer had sent him an apologetic text message earlier in the day, after his second oildown.

“He is very apologetic. He knows the problems that oildowns cause. It’s not fair to fans. They didn’t pay to see the Safety Safari cleaning up the track. It’s not fair to the racers in line behind him. He understands,” Light said.

The disqualification, Light said, was at the discretion of the NHRA, which classified the repeated offenses as “flagrant.” That makes Palmer subject to some sort of additional punishment. The sanctioning body might choose to fine Palmer, dock him points, order him to put in proper and sufficient testing to prove the problems with his dragster. Perhaps it will choose not to mete out any more punishment.

“During an event is not the time to decide on further action,” Light said, explaining that the delay allows time for any emotions to cool or frustrations on both sides to subside. “Our focus is the successful completion of the event.”

QUALIFYING CAROUSEL SPINS - Mike Strasburg was outside of the qualified Top Fuel field. However, with Scott Palmer’s disqualification, he was inserted into the lineup. “Boy, I tell you -- it’s been tough, and it plays on your nerves,” Strasburg said. “I feel bad for those guys. But we’ll take it.

”

OBERHOFER SHARES INSIGHT - Jim Oberhofer, Kalitta Motorsports vice-president, took time to share his thoughts in the aftermath of the driver shake-up that saw Dave Grubnic replaced with JR Todd.

"Last night [Friday] after the second qualifying session, Connie and I sat down. And he basically wanted to shake things up on the Optima Batteries car,” Oberhofer said. “They have been struggling a little bit earlier on that car, and David is an outstanding driver. He is almost too smart to be driving, because he is a brilliant guy who could be a crew chief out there. He's really a great guy. He put a lot of pressure on himself, and Connie decided, 'Hey, we need to shake things up.’ 



"He decided to bring JR Todd in. JR's a great kid, and I have known him for a long time. He's an excellent driver and obviously went right out there, hopped in that car, and did a nice job during the third qualifying session. We're trying to get that car to where it performs at a good level. We have had a great start of the season with Kalitta Motorsports and all of our teams. We want that level to be spread across all four teams,” he said. “It's kind of a tough deal, because Grubby's a great friend of mine and [friends] with everybody here. He's a great guy, and JR did a great job. We are just going to try to get through this weekend and after the weekend is over, go back and sit down with Connie and see which direction he wants to go.

“At the end of the day, he owns this team. We all have to respect what he wants to do. He wants to do the best for this team. In his mind, this is the right move, his team, for this team for this time. We are going to go from there, and hopefully those guys will have a good weekend. We'll see what happens next week. Hopefully we will have a direction of where we want to go from then on out."



RICHIE CRAMPTON – Richie Crampton discovered some time ago, back in his early days as a crew member at Morgan Lucas Racing, that he is – in his words – “a terrible gambler.” The GEICO/Lucas Oil Dragster driver didn’t promise to stay out of the casinos this weekend, only to “try to keep the damage to a minimum. It’ll be at the roulette table or somewhere.” He said, “I’ll leave my traditional donation to keep the lights on in Las Vegas."
 
The one light he wants to see on race day is the win light. No matter what, he wants to see the green light.

He fouled out in the opening round at the previous race, at Gainesville, red-lighting against team owner and, as of this year, occasional driver Morgan Lucas. 

"The team in general had a great weekend in Gainesville," Crampton said. "That was a little counterproductive for us, because we're already keeping our eye on the points and we're 10th right now. We would've liked to have won that round, so I'm looking for a little redemption after my last run was a red-light. I can't wait to get back in the race car and make it right."

The Top Fuel rookie is making his first driving appearance at Las Vegas, in conditions completely different from any of those in the season’s first three races of the season. Although having that extra car and extra data at the Gatornationals, Crampton said he has no added advantage for eliminations here. "Not everything we learned in Gainesville is going to transfer to Vegas,” he said. “Vegas is like racing at altitude, and it's a different animal.”

He and crew chief Aaron Brooks figured it out relatively easily. Crampton closed Friday in fourth place, with his 3.798-second pass leaving him just one-thousandth of a second off the elapsed times of No. 2 Antron Brown and No. 3 Doug Kalitta. Crampton dropped down to No. 6 Saturday and will meet JR Todd in the first round of eliminations.

IN A FUNK - Al-Anabi Racing Dragster driver Shawn Langdon, the reigning series champion, had an enviable eighth-place showing for qualifications. And teammate Khalid alBalooshi was ninth, meaning they’ll have race each other in the opening round of eliminations Sunday. While no two-car team wants that, the team’s plight could be worse.

Still, Langdon said, “we’re struggling a little bit, no doubt. But I wouldn’t want to trade places with anybody else. We’re in a little funk, but we’ll get out of it tomorrow.

“It’s tough in Top Fuel.  We really haven’t done anything where we’ve made huge mistakes,” he said. “For some reason on Sunday, the Al-Anabi car hasn’t cooperated like it did last year when we always seemed to make a lot of good runs on race day.  We haven’t had that much success yet, but it’s still early in the year.  We’re not hanging our heads about anything.  We have some things we can improve with the car, so we’re not discouraged by any means.

“At some point in the next few races, though,” Langdon said, “we need to get the Al-Anabi car back in the winners circle so the rest of the competition doesn’t run away in the points. We know we need to start making good runs on Sunday. That’s what our team is used to doing.  We need to keep our focus and get back to going rounds, like we did last year. Then the wins will take care of themselves. We have the mentality that we can win every race we enter, but it doesn’t always work out. We just have to do the best job we can. That’s really all you can do.”

He said, “I still have a lot of confidence in the Al-Anabi car and the Al-Anabi team, We still have a car that can go out there and win a race.  The results haven’t shown it yet this year, but we have a great car, and we are able to make good runs just about any time.”

AlBalooshi also remained positive: “The Al-Anabi team is strong. Both cars are strong.” Even before the event started, he said, “I think we are going to Las Vegas to do something good this weekend.  I know what has happened so far this year, but I am not worried about our team.  I know we are one of the best teams. We have a chance to win any race. On any weekend one of our cars can win the race.”

TIME FLIES – Top Fuel racer Doug Kalitta is a pilot and owner of a charter airline that provides passenger, medical, and cargo services. So he knows lots of things fly. But he was a little surprised at how time has flown.

When he lines up against Steve Faria for the first round of eliminations, he’ll begin his quest for his first Las Vegas victory since 2001.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since we won that first one,” the Mac Tools Dragster driver said. “My guys and I are all hungry hunters, so it should be fun going after another Vegas trophy. Even though the Vegas facility is one of best we race at, there is always a big temperature change throughout the day that seems to keep the crew chiefs busy.”

ODD MAN OUT – Steve Chrisman missed the Top Fuel cut.  

BACK BIG DADDY - The crowdfunding campaign for Mike Gerry's and Don Garlits' Swamp Rat 37 / Quest for 200 MPH on Batteries Dragster project launched this past Monday at kickstarter.com.

By Saturday afternoon, 32 supporters had contributed $4,185. The goal is to reach at least $25,000 in pledges by April 13 at 8:43 p.m. (Pacific Time). The minimum pledge is $1. Pledge packages include a limited opportunity for backers to add their names to the cowl of the car. The packages include logo stickers, T-shirts, commemorative coins, and posters.

The live online event, project spokesman Randy Cannon said, is critical to securing funds for testing and, in turn, opportunities to appear at events in an effort to record the first battery-electric dragster pass at 200 mph or faster on a quarter-mile dragstrip.

The Internet link for making a pledge is www.kickstarter.com/projects/1525300049/the-quest-for-200-mph-on-batteries.

“The Kickstarter project is open to everyone -- enthusiasts, business, and industry," Cannon said. "This is an opportunity for drag racing, EV, and technology enthusiasts around the world to become part of this exciting EV dragster project. This opportunity will directly fund the advanced technology costs of the battery power system."

The link to the Facebook post announcing the project is https://www.facebook.com/questfor200mphonbatteries/posts/1418228355100825.

Cannon said Garlits and Gerry hope to accomplish this speed challenge in 2014, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Garlits' historic first official 200-mph pass in 1964. This dragster will be powered by a 1500-kilowatt array of lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries that produce an equivalent horsepower rating of more than 2,000 hp. Garlits has launch-tested the SR-37 with  early versions of the LiPo battery-power packs and electric motor/controller systems. 

MIXED RESULTS - Tony Schumacher started strong Friday by being the second and fifth quickest, respectively, in each session. On Saturday, he briefly lost traction and slowed to 4.594-second run on the first run before ending qualifying with a time of 3.797 seconds at 324.28 mph to earn the No. 5 spot.

 

FUNNY CAR

MUSTANG COURTNEY - Even the dragsters couldn't beat her.

Courtney Force scored her fourth career No. 1 qualifier with a personal best 4.006 but it was her 325.29 which made the loudest statement. By .23 of a mile per hour, she is quicker than the fastest Top Fuel dragster on the property.

“We are excited," said Force, who collected her fourth No. 1 qualifier since Pomona 2013. "We struggled a little bit at the beginning of the season. In Gainesville we went all the way to the semis and we got beat by my dad. It felt good to have a consistent race car back. It felt good to come to a track where we have had some success in the past. We have been No. 2 here and we went to the final at both Las Vegas events last year."

Force and her famous father, John Force, are one and two headed into Sunday. This is the second time she and John have been No. 1 and No. 2, but the first time with Courtney occupying the No. 1 spot. John was No. 1 and Courtney No. 2 in 2013 at Topeka.

“I am proud of this Traxxas Ford Mustang team," she said. "They have been working hard on this car all weekend and to have it running this consistently makes you feel good. It gets you motivated for race day tomorrow,” said Force.

Force will meet Jon Capps in Sunday's first round, a driver she holds a 1-0 record against.

GOL-LEE - Over in Funny Car’s Chuck Worsham Racing pits are the unrelated “Lee Boys,” driver Paul and crew member Cory. This opportunity to fill in for an absent mechanic was a welcome one for Cory Lee, who has been competing in nostalgia events. He said he has tried to convince himself the two endeavors are equally exciting – but he can’t. “Note to myself: This is better,” he said.

LOOK, DAD! DAD? DAD? - This race at Las Vegas marks one of the rare opportunities Jon Capps, the driving-instructor at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park and stunt driver for three feature films and 11 TV commercials, gets to compete against his younger brother Ron Capps, driver of the NAPA Dodge Funny Car. Their dad usually is on hand for the experience, but John Capps is busy this weekend, racing his own car. Dad is competing in the West Coast Hot Rod Association season opener – a small-tire, heads-up event -- at Auto Club Raceway at Bakersfield, Calif. Jon Capps, 44, is driving Steve Plueger’s ’09 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Bucky Austin / Bucky’s Automotive.

RIDING WAVE OF DETERMINATION - Jeff Diehl was enjoying competing in the alcohol ranks and then the Nostalgia Top Fuel class but figured he’d never drive a nitro Funny Car. “I always thought they were crazy,” he said. “Then I built something that I thought only idiots would do: I built a Fuel Altered. I used to watch those when I was a kid and go, ‘No way! Those guys are stupid!’ ”  Then he found himself hopping into “The Witch Doctor” Fuel Altered at Boise, Idaho – and winning in his first race in that class.

Diehl has a true distinction among his Funny Car peers. “There aren’t too many Funny Car drivers who have driven a Top Fuel front-engine dragster.”

Not too many Funny Car drivers are surfers, either. But Diehl is. “Surfing is a very, very graceful thing. It’s kind of dangerous. I don’t ride 50-foot waves, but I’ll go out on some pretty big waves,” Diehl said. “And it’s dangerous, so that gets you goin’.”

But the culture of drag racing has been a magnet, like the ocean tides: “I always wanted to drive these cars and see what it was like. It’s something that was handed down to me. I very much want to do it and succeed at it.”

Diehl has no sponsorship. “I have a handful of people who help me. It’s mostly me and my wife’s money and hard work and blood, sweat, and tears,” he said.

“I’m an auto body / custom-car / restoration guy. I’m a painter – I painted this car myself. I pretty much do everything myself. I had a friend of mine help me build the chassis. I hang the bodies myself. I build all the engines myself. I do everything I possibly can do myself on the car. So that saves us a lot of money,” Diehl said.

“It’s just a lot of hard work. The money doesn’t come from one place, per se. It just comes from hard work and effort – just trying to make it happen, basically,” he said. “If I was to try and buy all this stuff, then I could never afford it.”

The fun-loving “Surfer” said, “I want to clarify I’m not out here just messin’ around. I’m really striving to be successful. I take the long road sometimes, and I’m striving to be the next John Force, just like everybody who’s there.

“I’m very serious about what I’m doing. I don’t do this for ego. I have no ego,” Diehl said. “I want to figure out how to make a living doing this fulltime. This is the ultimate challenge. This is my ultimate challenge, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE - Robert Hight stepped with a strong 4.059 second run in the first session, quick enough to grab one qualifying bonus point behind Matt Hagan and John Force. He smoked the tires in the final session.

“We were trying to run to No. 1 and we just pushed it a little too hard. We are pretty confident with this Auto Club Mustang. Neff has a good handle on it and he had a great race day tune-up. You just feel so good in the car when it rolls up there because Neff puts you are ease,” said Hight, a three time Summitracing.com NHRA Nationals winner.

TURNING UP THE HEAT - Gary Densham had a rough go of qualifying on Saturday, first with this fire and then missing the 16-car field.
 

 

PRO STOCK

ENDERS-STEVENS CALLS HERSELF BLESSED - Last-minute substitution Erica Enders-Stevens defeated her former crew chief Dave Connolly, the popular choice for the No. 8 slot via an Internet poll, to earn $50,000 for Richard Freeman’s Elite Motorsports in the K&N Horsepower Challenge. She replaced No. 3-seeded Mike Edwards, who stepped away from the sport at the close of last year’s season.

If Enders-Stevens wins Sunday’s SummitRacing.com Nationals, she will win a $25,000 double-up bonus in addition to the winner’s share of the event purse.  

The New Orleans-area resident became the first female winner of the “race within a race” that took place during the final day of qualifying for this fourth of 24 events on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. She easily won the showdown of Chevy Camaros with a quarter-mile elapsed time of 6.646 seconds at 208.39 mph. Connolly experienced tire shake and coasted to a 21.146-second, 36.51-mph clocking.

Enders-Stevens’ victory underscored once again drag racing’s diversity, as she shared the day’s spotlight with No. 1 qualifiers Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Courtney Force (Funny Car).

“The win is very sweet. It’s about having ice in your veins when it matters. We got it done by the grace of God, and I give Him all the glory. I’m a blessed girl.”

Part of what made the victory so satisfying for Enders-Stevens was the fact she didn’t think she’d get a chance to participate in the event at all.  She was ninth on the list that took only the top seven and awarded the eighth and final berth to the winner of an online fan vote.

However, she was the beneficiary of Edwards’s exit and Greg Anderson’s absence this year because of heart surgery. And after the victory, Enders-Stevens showed that wasn’t lost on her.

“We were forced to sit out six races with sponsorship problems and lost our position to qualify,” she said. “But God works in mysterious ways, and it’s a huge blessing.”

One of the pleasures of winning the K&N Horsepower Challenge is being able to earn for a specially selected fan a Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck. Annie Perkins, of Brookings, Ore., who was paired with Enders-Stevens and was the lucky recipient, said, “It’s all girl power today!”

Enders-Stevens said of Perkins, “She’s having a blast, and I’m glad we could get it done for her.”

She’ll open eliminations Sunday as the No. 3 qualifier against No. 14 Larry Morgan.

COUGHLIN STAYS ON TOP - Jeg Coughlin Jr. now has an even 20. The defending series champion earned the 20th No. 1 qualifier of his career, claiming the top spot at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Coughlin ran 6.625 seconds at 208.78 mph during Friday's second session.

"We're really proud to hold on to the No. 1 position," Coughlin said. "We're honored to receive the bonus from K&N and NHRA. It really shows quite a bit for our team. We've been hustling a lot the last month and a half getting these new cars ready and starting the new season."

Coughlin, a five-time Pro Stock winner at Las Vegas, made four solid passes in qualifying, all within .017-seconds. Conditions changed from Friday to Saturday, and Coughlin's team made numerous changes to the new Dart.

"We made quite a few adjustments coming into today, and for the Horsepower Challenge, we made some more adjustments being first pair," Coughlin said. "We were really happy with the results and the performance of the car. We'll tuck that in our hat and get ready for tomorrow."

QUICK REVERSAL OF FORTUNE - Last Sunday Mark Wolfe had his Pro Stock race-car hauler spit-shined and ready for a photo session. “It was going to go on Racing Junk online. We were going to sell it,” he said. But thanks to an intervention from fellow Ford driver Larry Morgan, Wolfe will be vying this Sunday for a Wally trophy as the No. 16 starter who’ll face No. 1 Jeg Coughlin.

Morgan called Wolfe Monday and invited him to come down from his home at Arlington, Wash., and fill the Pro Stock field, which needed another entry. But Wolfe declined, telling Morgan, “No, I have no money, Larry. I can’t do it.” Morgan didn’t give up. “About every 50 minutes he’d call back: ‘Are you sure? Are you sure you can’t go?” Wolfe said. Finally, Morgan phoned him and said, “I got Moldstar to give you $2,500.” That provided travel expenses.” Moreover, Morgan gave Wolfe the engine. “No lease, no nothing. And here we are.”

By Monday evening, Wolfe said, he was convinced the plan would work. He had to put a clutch in his truck Tuesday just to get on the road.

When qualifying began Friday, Wolfe outperformed Morgan in the first two sessions, cracking into the top 12. Finally in the third session, Morgan’s elapsed time topped Wolfe’s, and they entered the final session in the Nos. 14 and 15 places on the 16-driver grid. Morgan ended up 14th for a first-round meeting with Erica Enders-Stevens.

“It’s really benefiting him,” Wolfe said of his Morgan-orchestrated appearance. “We’re testing a bunch of stuff for him. He’s getting to test a bunch of stuff that he’s had but just hasn’t had the budget to test. We’re kind of his test mule for the weekend, which I’m totally fine with.” Wolfe said the plan is to partner with Morgan at Sonoma and Seattle in July and August during the Western Swing.

Ironically, this joyful turn of events, this “Vegas, Baby!” moment, coincided with one of the saddest, most tragic turn of events for Wolfe and his neighbors in Arlington, Wash. The mudslide a week ago Saturday (March 22) that killed 25 and left nearly 100 more missing, occurred about 10 miles from his home. He and girlfriend Dana LeMasters recently purchased a house for the first time. But they had considered purchasing a home that happened to be in the square-mile area of devastation. “If we had bought it, we wouldn’t be here,” he said.

THE SPIRIT IS WILLING, BUT … - Greg Anderson is in attendance during this weekend’s NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals. Anderson, who underwent heart surgery prior to the season-opener in Pomona, still isn’t racing but he’s feeling well enough to take in the sights and sounds of the strip.



“I feel great. It's good to be back,” Anderson said. “It almost feels like my first race ever. I've been sitting on the couch, watching on the Internet and on the T.V. and it's tough. It's tough as a racer, because I've never missed before. So it feels fantastic to be back. Even though I'm not back in the race car, I'm just more of a cheerleader this weekend.

”

Anderson confirmed he will know April 7 when he can return to driving. 



“We’ll go in and take a CT scan to see how everything's healing up,” Anderson said. “Early signs look like I'm running on schedule. They originally told me 12 weeks. If I can cut a week off of that and make it 11 weeks, it'll be the Houston race. If not, it'll be Atlanta.

 

“Obviously I'm trying to convince the doctors that Houston looks a whole lot better than Atlanta to me, but we'll do whatever they say. Obviously you can't mess around with this stuff so, I've got new plumbing now and I feel great, and it's hard to keep myself tied down. They just don't want you to do anything hard with your body. Otherwise it won't heal. I'm excited. I feel great, and I feel like I can do everything I want to do -- but I just can't yet.”

MOVING ON FROM EARLY LOSS – Allen Johnson, startled by his opening-round loss to Dave Connolly, was something the K&N Horsepower Challenge defending champion said he’ll build on. He saw the positives: “I’ll take a .020 light every time.”

He told ESPN that Connolly just stepped up and did a little better job than we did. "We have a good car, got a good crew, got a good driver and a good package for tomorrow. We’ll just build on it for tomorrow and hopefully make a little better run tomorrow for a little bit of a cushion.”

 

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

TOP FUEL

CONSISTENT TORRENCE HOLDS HIS GROUND – AND NO. 1 SPOT - Steve Torrence has said all along that he won’t bring out his second Capco Contractor Dragster with dad Billy at the wheel until much later this season, until his own car performs consistently. And he doesn’t care what the idle chitchat on the public-address system hinted at. He insists his dad will be a spectator until this fall.

That’s despite the fact Torrence said after securing the provisional No. 1 qualifying position Friday that his dragster is being consistent at the moment.  “We’ve run really good all year. Coming out and going to three semis in a row is probably the best start of my fuel career.  To have that consistency definitely is a confidence-booster for not only myself but for the whole team,” he said.

However, he was quick to add, “This is only four races into it. We don’t want to count our eggs before they hatch. We’ve got a long ways to go. We’ve got 14 more [races] before we start racing for real.

“We’re looking at bringing it out at the end of the year, same scenario as last year. Nothing has changed in our plans to do that,” Torrence said. “Our main focus is to get my car running consistently and running well. We’re running for a championship, and my dad’s running for fun. Nothing’s better than to be able to come out and race as a family, especially at this level. We’re not anticipating bringing him out any time in the near future.”

The independent owner-driver from Kilgore, Texas, said he was surprised to see his Capco Contractors car register a 3.779-second elapsed time to edge Antron Brown and Doug Kalitta, the two drivers who have been blazing hot in the first three races and are ahead of him in the standings. Brown and Kalitta were Nos. 2 and 3, respectively with identical 3.797-second runs.  

“If these first four races are any indication of what the rest of the season is like, this is going to be a bare-knuckles brawl. If you don’t go (3.)70s, you go home. If you’re not .060 or better on the tree and go .70s, you go home.”

ZONED FOR BUSINESS – Top Fuel driver Antron Brown has hopped back and forth through several time zones since making his second final-round appearance of the year March 16 at the Gatornationals. But when it comes to racing he's in THE zone.

"We're in that zone, and once you get in it you want to stay in it," he said, keeping up the performance level with three victories in five championship rounds in the past seven events, dating back to last year's Countdown. "We know where we need to be, and hopefully that will carry on throughout the year. We haven't even hit our full stride yet."

Brown won the 2013 fall Las Vegas race and was runner-up to Don Schumacher Racing colleague Tony Schumacher last spring.

In the past two weeks, Brown returned from Gainesville, Fla., to his home at Pittsboro, Ind., then flew to Charlotte to sit courtside at a Charlotte Bobcats NBA game and promote the April 11-13 NHRA Four-wide Nationals. After a day back in the Indianapolis area, he participated in Toyota Motorsports Day at Torrance, Calif. He was back home last Friday but drove to the Chicago area for last Saturday's wedding of his Matco Tools Dragster clutch specialist, Michael O'Guin, to Marla Weidenaar, the assistant clutch specialist on Jack Beckman's Funny Car team. After that, Brown traveled to El Paso, Texas, Monday to spend Tuesday with students at Western Technical College. Then this Thursday night, Brown was at the "Brooklyn Bridge" – the one at the New York New York Casino, for the NHRA FanFest.

BRING IT ON - Brittany Force is back in a bit of a comfort zone. "I’m pumped to be heading back to Vegas, as I got my first round Top Fuel win against [Doug] Kalitta here last year. So I'm ready get back in the seat," the Castrol EDGE Dragster driver said. "I love the Vegas track. It's beautiful. And the Castrol EDGE team is ready to go some rounds."

Her Todd Smith-led crew has been sorting out the electrical glitches that short-circuited her chances at the Amalie Oil Gatornationals earlier this month.

Force, who's in seventh place in the standings but one round out of fifth, said The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway "kind of feels like a home track for me. It’s close to where we live in Southern California, and I remember watching my dad compete here when I was younger. I've also been down that strip numerous times in my Super Comp, A/Fuel Dragster and of course Top Fuel."

She and the rest of the JFR team will be signing autographs from 8-9 p.m. Friday at The Pub at the Monte Carlo Casino and Hotel. "We've done a couple of fan events at Las Vegas, and I love spending time with the fans. It gets you really pumped up and excited to race," Brittany Force said.

LIVE LUCKY -- With third-place status in the standings and career-best elapsed time and speed (3.758 seconds, 329.02 mph) to his credit already this season, Capco Contractors Dragster owner-driver Steve Torrence said his plan this weekend is "to live lucky." Of course, that's a reference to Black Clover apparel, his Utah-based associate sponsor. Vegas oddsmakers have him a 5-1 favorite. The Kilgore, Texas, racer said, "[Crew chief] Richard Hogan has this Capco car flying, and everybody’s doing a great job. The only thing we’re missing is the winners circle."

A NOVEL IDEA – Spencer Massey has had one semifinal finish and two Round 2 losses this season – not the stellar start he was hoping to have in the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher Dragster. However, he's not upset.

"The way I see it is this is only going to be the fourth chapter in a 24-chapter book, and books always get better toward the end," Massey said.

"We just need to keep getting those round wins, getting stronger as a team so when the summer stretch of races hits, we're on top of our game heading into the Countdown. We've got a long season left ahead of us, but it sure would be nice to get a win early this season."

Two of his 14 NHRA Top Fuel victories were at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in the fall of 2009 and the spring of 2102. "I love racing at Las Vegas," he said. "It seems like we always have a strong car on race day there, and I'm ready. We haven't made it past a semifinal yet this year so I'm hoping that this might be our weekend."

IGNORE STATISTICS (UNLESS IT'S VEGAS) - Tony Schumacher's atypical start to the 2014 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season has seen him fail to reach at least one championship round after three races. That hasn't happened since 2009, and this is just the second time since 2003 that's happened.

But Schumacher has had some of his best moments here. He has earned seven victories in 10 final rounds at this facility's 27 events. That includes this race last April and ties him with Pro Stock's Greg Anderson (who won’t be racing this weekend, as he's still recovering from heart surgery). Schumacher has won more times only at Indianapolis (nine). He said he has no idea why at some tracks he can hit the jackpot over and over, while at others his weekend's a bust.

"I wish I had the answer because I'd bottle it up and sell it," he said. "There's just no answer. Why haven't we ever won at Atlanta? Or why have we won the U.S. Nationals nine times, and that's the hardest race in the world?"

"

Vegas is early in the year when there's pressure on all of us, and the next-to-last race when we've had to do well to either clinch the championship or get into position to do it at the next race at Pomona. Getting through adversity when others might get mad is what pulls us together," Schumacher, hoping to reverse a 15-race drought, said. "We've seen numerous teams fall apart when they're not winning. But we've sucked it up and have stayed together. We know the outcome will be good and adversity happens in our sport. We know tough times occur and that's just part of the game. Championships are the most excellent when you had to go through times like this. I'm an extreme pressure driver, and our Army team with Mike and Neal [crew chief Green and assistant crew chief Strausbaugh] are all about pressure."

FUNNY CAR

HAGAN FLEXES HIS QUALIFYING MUSCLES AT VEGAS - After struggling at races at Phoenix and Gainesville, veteran crew chief Dickie Venables knew his Don Schumacher Racing nitro Funny Car team with driver Matt Hagan needed a change.

Venables rolled the dice at the Las Vegas race Friday at the 15th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals switching to his team’s 2013 Dodge.

The move paid immediate dividends.

Hagan clocked a 4.063-second elapsed time at 317.05 mph to grab the provisional pole Friday evening at The Strip at Las Vegas.

“At first, I thought the track would be pretty tricky and after the first lap a lot of rubber filled in and the cars really started coming around,” said Hagan, who also had the fastest time in the first qualifying session at 4.131 seconds. “It was nice that we were in the back of the pack (for the second session) because we ran low in the first session, so we were able to see what a lot of those cars were doing. But, Dickie, with this car we have right now, he can kind of pretty much call the shots on it. It’s our old race car we won five races with last year. We have been running our new car the last three races and it was kind of hit or miss with it and he said let’s go back to what we know. He did that and pulled it out of the box and it was right to the top.”

STILL SELLING - Persistence has been one of John Force's greatest traits. He's relying on this attribute to keep his team running at full strength well beyond the end of this season when his major sponsors, Castrol GTX and Ford, step away from drag racing.

“Man, I love it out here and I’m hooked and maybe it’s pathetic. I’m scared to death they’ll take it away from me and my kids, so I do the best I can,” Force said.

Force still has drawing power and was recently named Racer of the Year XIX by the readers of Racer and Racer.com by a landslide vote. This was the second time he earned overall Racer of the Year honors since 2010.

“This is the kind of thing that really makes you stop and think. I want to thank the fans who believe in me as I try to stay hungry yet humble and not think about it. The 2013 championship was special, and this award makes it even more special. All I can say is what an honor it is," he said.

JUNIOR'S VEGAS MEMORIES - Tommy Johnson Jr. admits he'd be lying if he didn't mention Las Vegas is one of his favorite racing destinations.

“You have a lot of tracks where you have success for unknown reasons, and Vegas is one of those tracks for me," Johnson said. "It just seems to happen for me there, and I always like going to that track. I would love nothing more than to return and get that first win for the Make-A-Wish team. Things have been good, but there is nothing like a win."

Johnson scored his first Vegas win back in 2001, while driving a Funny Car for Don Prudhomme.

"I remember we ran Whit Bazemore in the final and got the win, and that is something I always think about when I go back there," recalled Johnson, who has earned nine trophies in NHRA's monstrously competitive nitro ranks. "It was just a good weekend. It was my birthday that weekend, and Don Prudhomme and I share a birthday, so it was his, too. It was really special to get the first win of the year for that team and the first win after they had expanded to a two-car team. It would be nice to see a repeat of that success this weekend."

While many of his Funny car counterparts are hitting the track for the first time this weekend, Johnson has a leg up by getting in some preseason practice runs at the Vegas drag strip.

“Our confidence is pretty high," he said. "We were able to test in Las Vegas before the Winternationals, and the car ran extremely well [here], so we already have a baseline for that track. It also gave me the opportunity to make a few runs down [this] particular racetrack, so I'm excited."

GIVE ME A BREAK - Jack Beckman is in the longest non-winning streak of his seven-year professional driving career. His last victory came in 2012 at St. Louis. In a title-defense season where he finished in third place, Beckman was winless, despite reaching the finals three times and qualifying No. 1 twice.

Beckman said he believes his team isn't far away from winning again.

"We're not far off right now," said Beckman. "Were it not for losing to the low elapsed times of the rounds at the last two events, we could have gone deep in eliminations. You don't want to put yourself in a position to rely on luck to win a race, and with the way we're headed we're going to be creating our own luck pretty soon and no better place for that than in Vegas."

RIGHT ON PLAN - Making his way to the second round in two of the first three races this season has been a significant accomplishment for Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson. Wilkerson said his first few races of the season are essentially his preseason test laps.

"We're getting there, kind of like we always do this early in the year, and Gainesville was another step in the right direction," Wilkerson said. "We're still not exactly where we want to be, in terms of either performance or consistency, but it's coming along and we're not far away. I usually have a pretty good feel for where we are in the process, and whether or not a good race is something I expect instead of something I hope for, and I know we're just about there."

Wilkerson said his game plan will remain the same as it has been since the season opened.
"We always focus on the first lap," Wilkerson said. "If you put a nice solid run on the board in Q1, it tends to set the stage for all kinds of good things to happen. You can push it a little harder on the rest of the laps and you build a lot of confidence along the way. It's not a sure recipe for success, but it helps. John Force qualified 16th at Gainesville and really never made a decent lap in qualifying, but he did OK on race day. So that shows you it's possible to do some good no matter where you are. I could do without that kind of drama, though."

BACK TO THE BASICS - Matt Hagan has experienced opening-round losses during the last two national events, in Phoenix and Gainesville. Those early defeats prompted his team to return to familiarity.

"We're coming out with our old car and our old combination from last year," Hagan said. "We won five races with it and I think that we can do well. We have a lot of data to go off of and Dickie (crew chief Venables) and (assistant crew chief) Mike Knudsen feel very positive and strong about it. I'm excited to crawl back in our old race car."

Venables made the call to return to the proven combination.

"We'll continue to test new things, but it might be time to go back to what we know and what is proven for race day," Hagan said. "It's early in the season and we'll get our combination figured out."

Hagan's 2013 car earned five event titles (Charlotte 1, Englishtown, Chicago, Seattle, Pomona).

ROLLING THE DICE - Chad Head holds the Las Vegas track in high regard as the place where he got his start. After this weekend, he’s hoping for a different kind of regard for the facility. He's hoping the track will be the launching point for a better 2014.

“Las Vegas is special to me and has a lot of history, since this is where I earned my license. Track president Chris Powell and his staff do such a good job putting on NHRA events twice a year at LVMS, and what a great facility it is. We want it to be a turnaround weekend for us in Las Vegas and what better place to change our luck? If there was ever a location where you can just roll the dice and hit the jackpot, it’s Las Vegas.

“We’ve now had a chance to reevaluate our recent runs and have made those changes in our Vegas set-up. Between the warmer weather and the higher altitude, adjustments have to be made to compensate for the conditions. We’re ready for a great weekend.”

HE'S THE KING OF THE STRIP - No one has won more Funny Car titles at Las Vegas than Ron Capps. He's a five-time Vegas winner, but only one victory has come during the spring event.

LIKES TO GAMBLE – Veteran Funny Car driver Paul Lee is a man of many pursuits – especially chasing that first Funny Car Wally trophy. He has three from his Top Alcohol Funny Car days, as well as an IHRA Ironman statue. But Lee is as at home at Las Vegas' gaming tables, for he's also a professional poker player, among other distinctions.

And poker players are renowned for not letting their faces telegraph their pleasure or displeasure with the hand of cards they hold. But Lee couldn't mask his excitement about returning to the racetrack this weekend with Worsham Racing and boss Chuck Worsham.

They skipped the Amalie Oil Gatornationals and hope to build on their preseason testing experience at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "We learned a lot while testing here back in January, and we know that the test will give us a great baseline for this weekend," Lee said.

“We had some gremlins at the beginning of the season," he said, "and we have solved those issues and are ready to put on a show for all our great fans this weekend in Las Vegas. We're ready to gamble and roll the dice this weekend, and that isn’t just at the casinos."

Lee, an experienced skydiver, has a degree from Ivy-League Penn's prestigious Wharton School of Business and a law degree from Rutgers. He owns McLeod Clutches. And he's co-founder of the non-profit foundation "Science of Racing" that's dedicated to inspiring students to enjoy science and technology through motorsports.

WIX BRIGHTENS PEDREGON’S FUTURE - Independent Funny Car racer and two-time champion Tony Pedregon has secured primary funding for four more races this season, including this weekend’s SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas. WIX Filters, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, unveiled a new paint scheme Friday for Pedregon’s Chevrolet. WIX also will serve as Pedregon’s primary sponsor at Epping, N.H. (June 19-22), Seattle (Aug. 1-3), and Indianapolis (Aug. 27-Sept. 1).

“With my years of experience with cars, trucks, equipment, and racing, I know that WIX Filters understands quality and performance, as well as what their customers want,” Pedregon said.

Mike Harvey, brand manager for WIX Filters, said, “We are looking forward to another action-packed season of NHRA series racing with Tony Pedregon.” He called the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series “the perfect venue for WIX customers to experience all the sights and sounds of NHRA racing, including access to Tony.”

 

PRO STOCK

BULLSEYE - Jeg Coughlin Jr. continued to nail the bullseye in his new Dodge Dart.

Coughlin covered the Las Vegas quarter-mile in 6.625 seconds at 207.78 miles per hour to take the top spot in Friday qualifying.

"Going into the first round of the K&N Challenge, it was exactly what the doctor ordered," Coughlin said. "It's our first time on top of the charts this year, and we'd love to see that hold true through the rest of the weekend.

"First things first tomorrow, we'd love to get by round one in the Horsepower Challenge and go from there."

Coughlin's run of 6.625 seconds beat out Chris McGaha's identical elapsed time based on a better speed.

"Honestly, I was surprised when (crew chief) Adam (Hornberger) said we ran a .62," Coughlin said. "I felt like we could improve that second session, but it made a good arc coming out of the hole.

"When I let the clutch out, it just drove a little bit left, a little bit left. It was like I was barely feeding it a little bit of a wheel, and it came back all the way as I hit second gear going into third and then fourth. I never felt like it quivered the tires or took the tire off or anything. I think we got away with one there."

Part of the reason Coughlin's car moved left was because he was pointed that way on the starting line.

"The track was getting ripped up there, and they had me moved over toward the right quite a bit," Coughlin said. "In compensation to not shoot me down the right side of the guardrail, we pointed it back left just a shade to try to aim it back in the groove. I think it crossed over just a little bit. Other than that, it was nice."

Should Coughlin hold on, it will be his 20th career No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock.

STILL THE ONE - The one Mopar driver heading into this weekend’s action already riding a winning streak is Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson who comes in on the heels of consecutive title wins at the NHRA Nationals in Phoenix and Gainesville. Not only would he love follow up the debut victory of the Dodge Dart at the Gatornationals with another trip to the winner’s circle, but he’s hoping to continue a number of streaks at a track where he has had some good success.

Johnson, the current leader in the factory hot rod standings, is also the defending winner of both the Las Vegas national title and the K&N Horsepower Challenge race-within-a-race bonus event, as well as the additional “Sweep Bonus” of $50,000 for his efforts. Johnson has won the challenge twice and is once again seeded No.1. (Action footage from 2013 courtesy of NHRA Media Relations, NHRA)

ENDERS-STEVENS ADDED TO BONUS RACE - In an unprecedented set of circumstances, the NHRA has inserted substitute Erica Enders-Stevens into the eight-car field for Saturday’s K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus race for Pro Stock cars at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

She will replace Mike Edwards, who qualified for the event in the No. 3 spot with his spectacular 2013 that yielded 15 top-qualifying positions. Edwards decided to step away from the sport at the end of last year and sold his equipment to up-and-coming West Texas racer Chris McGaha.

Enders-Stevens will face No. 6 seed V Gaines when the $50,000-to-win race-within-a-race begins at 1 p.m. as part of the third overall qualifying session for the SummitRacing.com Nationals.

This 30th edition has a significantly different make-up also because Pro Stock dominator Greg Anderson will not compete. Anderson shares the record with also-absent Kurt Johnson for the most K&N Horsepower Challenge victories (four). Anderson is in Las Vegas as an observer as he recovers from heart surgery. He had qualified easily but because he missed this year’s first three events, his name slid off the list of seven automatic entrants. The eighth and final slot went to Dave Connolly, winner of an online fan vote announced this past week.

The field was determined by Pro Stock qualifying performances from the past 24 events, dating back to last season.

Allen Johnson, last year’s winner, is the top qualifier and one of just three racers in this field (along with Jeg Coughlin and Vincent Nobile) to win previously. He’ll take on Connolly in pursuit of his second straight “double-up” achievement. If the K&N Horsepower Challenge winner also wins the event Sunday, he or she will earn a “Sweep Bonus” of $25,000.

Other opening-round match-ups Saturday are No. 2 Coughlin against No. 7 Nobile and No. 4 Shane Gray against No. 5 Jason Line.

The second round of the K&N Horsepower Challenge is scheduled for 3:45 p.m., as part of the fourth and final qualifying session. The final round is set for 4:45 p.m.

espn3GOOD MEMORIES AND OPPORTUNITIES - The last time Shane Gray visited the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he walked away with a trophy. He also ended at 60-race dry spell in winning his third NHRA national event title. 

”It was great to finally get to the winners circle again," said Gray. "It seemed like winning was darn near impossible for us – we kept getting close but then it kept slipping away. But the Gray Motorsports guys kept at it and kept at it, and we finally got it done. I will say this: when you haven't won anything in a long time, you sure are more appreciative when it happens."



Gray is competing in his second K&N Shootout since 2011 when he was the No. 7 seed and knocked out Allen Johnson in the first round. Mike Edwards halted him in the semifinals.

”

I'm racing Jason Line in the first round on Saturday, and my teammate Dave Connolly is racing good ol' A.J. [Johnson]," said Gray. "If we both win, we get to race each other in the second round, and that would mean a Gray Motorsports Camaro would make it to the final for the first time in the shootout.

”

We'll take it one round at a time and see what we can do, but we went out and tested our cars last week, and we think we're better than we were in Gainesville. We think we're better, but we'll find out real quick."

SEARCHING FOR HIS GROOVE - Rodger Brogdon might not have his Chevrolet Camaro at the front of the pack but it isn't for lack of effort. After finishing up the weekend in Gainesville, the Lucas Oil/Protect the Harvest-sponsored driver sent his team west to Las Vegas, far in advance of this weekend's event.

Brogdon said he believes his crew has found the source of their early-season ills.

”Right after Gainesville we loaded up the car and headed to Las Vegas to see what we could learn," Brogdon said. "We made a few runs there that have us feeling very optimistic heading into this weekend. Just like all season, we found changes to make small gains.

”If you pick up two- or three-thousandths of a second, that is the difference between gaining five more starting positions. All season we've been looking for those two-thousandths to be even more competitive. We think we found that gain and look forward to showing off our improvements in Las Vegas."

CONTEMPLATING - To the winner goes the spoils, kinda-sorta.

Dave Connolly, team driver for Gray Motorsports, won the fan vote which seeded him into the K&N Horsepower Challenge.

Connolly, who was a crew chief and not a driver last season, showed he was worthy by scoring his eighth career No. 1 qualifier at the most recently completed NHRA Gatornationals. He faces defending K&N Horsepower Challenge winner Allen Johnson in the first round.

The two teammates will go to battle against the competition in round one and, according to the ladder, will line up against one another in the semifinals – if all goes as planned.

”I feel like if we play our cards right, [teammate Shane Gray] and I should be running each other in the second round. If we can get there, then we give ourselves a real chance to put a Gray Motorsports Camaro in the winners circle," Connolly said optimistically.

GAME CHANGER - The only constant about Larry Morgan's 2014 season has been change.

”So far this season we've made a lot of changes on the Ford Mustang," Morgan said. "It's been a game of trying to maintain what we already have while trying to work on new things already in progress.

”We learned a lot after racing in Gainesville, and we feel confident in applying those changes to the car for the rest of the season. It's those long-term improvements that get you really excited to head to the next race and show off what you can do."