ASHER’S NORWALK INSIDER SUNDAY EDITION - HEARTLAND HOLIDAY

This is America, this state of Ohio. There’s no place else like it. Cruise around the Norwalk area, home of Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park (we promise not to use that lengthy name again!) and you’ll be overwhelmed by the greenery, but there’s a lot more. Fields of half-grown corn, as far as the eye can see. Clipped, manicured lawns that span a full acre or more abut the highways. Flowers grow in more than the gardens surrounding most homes, they grow wild along the edges of those highways. The towns are small, intimate – and old. And that’s a good thing. You won’t see the sprawl of southern California, or the endless housing tracts that surround Phoenix here. Everything’s individual in nature.

Patriotism rules here. Yesterday we mentioned the hundreds of American flags decorating the track, but really, that’s nothing compared to the number of flags we saw being proudly displayed on front lawns, on flag poles and yes, even spaced evenly along the borders of people’s property. At Norwalk there’s no need to suggest that the fans stand for the national anthem; they’re on their feet before the announcement has even faded away. They may have bitter differences in political leanings, but that all disappears when the conversation turns to the country. They’re proud to be Americans, as everyone should be.

The Saturday crowd at Norwalk was terrific. Today’s was also excellent, and we’re saying that with the full knowledge that this facility has rarely had standout Sunday crowds. We don’t know the reason for that, but regardless, today’s was excellent. What hurts the perception of events like this are the camera locations chosen by ESPN, because they unfortunately keep panning by the lesser populated portions of the grandstands. The only way to change that is to somehow convince ESPN to move the cameras, but don’t bet on that happening, because ESPN’s on the way out the door. They know it, and so do we, so in actuality the network is in a lame duck position.

The racing today was excellent – until the left lane began to go away in the second round. It was nobody’s fault, but too many cars spun the tires about 300 feet out, and that was unfortunate. Still, this was an excellent contest from start to finish – in every pro category.

 

There are always good stories, and Karen Stoffer’s is one of them. After losing her Geico sponsorship at the end of last year it looked like she might not race at all this season, but then she showed up at the Gators and won the season opener. She now has two wins to her credit aboard her Suzuki, but you know what we really like? She’s just like Alexis DeJoria in that she doesn’t hold her emotions in check. She repeatedly said, as she waited for her interview with Gary Gerould, “Oh my goodness. How did this happen? Oh my God!” We love stuff like that. Just let it all out, Karen!

The runner-up was a stunner – Angelle Sampey. Why was that a stunner? As we wrote yesterday, team owner George Bryce was tearing his hair out because of the way the bike refused to go down the track in a straight line – and it’s not as if there was a novice aboard! As we recall it, Ms. Sampey is the winningest female driver in drag racing. But, she bulbed in the finale – and was less than pleased when she rolled around the top end corner on her Buell.

Drew Skillman is becoming a force to be reckoned with in Pro Stock. The kid can definitely drive, and winning may be just a race away. There were some good lights in Pro Stock, but in the finale Skillman was up against one of the very best – Greg Anderson. After having spent the previous week visiting with and getting to know the entire staff at Summit Racing Equipment (and trust us, there are many, many employees at Summit), and then competing in his sponsor’s race, Anderson felt himself under considerable pressure. He delivered. It was a killer race, probably one of the few in which we’ll list the numbers. Anderson: 0.022 R.T. 6.592/212.19. Skillman: 0.026 R.T. 6.594/211.43.

 

Top qualifier Erica Enders-Stevens lost in the first round to Alan Prusiensky’s Mopar when her Camaro tried to turn itself inside out a few hundred feet off the line. And that’s why they race instead of just saying, Hey, you’re the Number 1 qualifier, so you go ahead and just take this round. The crowd reaction was interesting, because half of them cheered for the underdog while the other half bemoaned her early departure.

Yesterday tuners Jimmy Prock and John Medlen let us in on a little secret. They were actually testing with the Infinite Hero Dodge driven by Jack Beckman. They’d front-halfed the car and it wasn’t reacting as they thought it should. In fact, they were almost ready to throw in the towel and just try to get through eliminations in one piece. But a funny thing happened on their way to an early exit – they kept on winning. Fast Jack drove well – as he always does – and the wins just keep on a-comin’.

If you looked at the charts you would have picked Courtney Force to win it, because she downed some very big name guys. Beckman beat her father in the first round when his engine expired, but Courtney had a good side-by-side 4.06 second race against Ron Capps – and won. Then she stopped Matt Hagan (but we’ll still pick him if they decide to settle their next confrontation with fists and clubs! He’s a very big guy), and after that toppled Del Worsham. Beckman wasn’t beating clowns, by the way. After he got by Force, John, he beat Hight, Robert, and Wilkerson, Tim.

 

There was a time in drag racing when losing to a woman was an embarrassment. We can’t tell you how many times we’d hear guys getting the business. “You lost to a girl? What kind of racer are you anyway?” We know one old Funny Car driver who lost a few races to Paula Murphy back in the day, but he always had an excuse ready. “The windshield was fogged up,” he’d say, or “My goggles slipped down and I couldn’t see.” Yeah, right. Anyway, there’s no shame in losing to a girl these days, because every one of these women can really drive. Whether it’s Courtney, Karen, Alexis, Erica, Brittany, Angelle or someone else, there’s no shame in losing, there’s only losing. These days few guys would have the temerity to give a buddy a bad time after being defeated by one of these premier drivers.

Shirley Muldowney set the standard, then Angelle won a championship and then Erica. And don’t shortchange Amy Faulk, the first Sportsman champ. Anyone who thinks women winning in drag racing is something special had better think again. It’s now commonplace, accepted and cheered for by an ever-growing legion of female fans.

In the first round of Top Fuel Larry Dixon faced teammate Dave Connolly in a pair of Bob Vandergriff Racing-owned cars. Dixon won the race, but it was the speed that got everyone’s attention -- 332.51 MPH. No one else was even remotely close all weekend, which leads us to believe that first-year crew chief Mike Guger is really onto something. In the Cinderella world Dixon would have gone on to win the event, but that didn’t happen after he hazed the tires against Clay Millican in the next round. Still, 332 in a thousand feet is really haulin’ ass.

This was Doug Kalitta’s race, and he wasn’t about to let it get away from him. He had the numbers in every round, and he left on everyone he faced save Antron Brown in the finale. But even then he had the better elapsed time and suddenly, the guy who should have won a title more than once, is looking like he has a real chance to score one this year. We’ve already said Kalitta is an exceptional driver, but there’s something else that goes along with that, and that’s the fact that regardless of what happens, he’s not going to get rattled. This is a guy who drove sprint cars (a serious handful) and flies jets. He’s not going to flinch if parts come off the car in the other lane, nor is he going to over correct if some of them come flying his way. He is very, very steady and very, very good. As evidence, look to the video of Dixon’s spectacular crash in Gainesville and see Kalitta, in the other lane, calmly dodging parts and debris.

So, now it’s on to Chicago, and the week after that, Denver. The Mello Yellow Series trail continues. NHRA has a new president, and hopefully, a new television package for 2016 that will knock our socks off. Races like this one make everyone feel good and man, do we feel good. Just bring on the Night Under Fire here in Norwalk on August 15th. We’ll definitely be back for that!

 

 

 

 

SATURDAY EDITION - HAPPY 4th EVERYONE!

Ya know, there aren’t many places better than Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio to spend the fourth of July holiday. When it comes to patriotism, well, it’s written all over the place, from the top end of the track through the campground and into the staging lanes. American flags are everywhere, even along the fences facing the highways around the track. And every night, after everyone’s gone home, or back to their motorhomes to crash, minions arrive to replace any flags that are missing. Fireworks? Norwalk’s got ‘em, big time. What a show!

Trash? There’s no such thing at Norwalk, because the cleanup crew works all day and long into the night. Every member of the Norwalk team is decked out in red, white and blue. One worker told us this morning about not only the number of fans who had personally thanked her for the track’s hospitality, but about the woman who showed up with $75 clutched in her hand, hoping to buy a shirt like the workers are wearing. She might get her wish next year.

Once again the on-track action was superior, and we fully expect to see more of the same on Sunday, when every run will really count. But until then, here’s a very brief re-cap of what took place today, along with a ton of photos (yes, we weighed them).

 

 

ASHER’S NORWALK INSIDER - FRIDAY EDITION: THIS IS THE PLACE!

The NHRA Mello Yellow Series is tough. The races are often back-to-back, and there comes a time in every season where at least some of the teams are so worn down that, if asked, might admit they’d like another weekend off rather than another race. Ah, but that rarely happens when it comes to the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. This is a race everyone looks forward to. Why? Because the entire grounds are immaculately groomed, the staff is overwhelmingly friendly and helpful, and every racer works that much harder to put on a good show for the fans.

Let’s put this another way: We don’t know of a single other national event facility about which at least one Safety Safari member said, “We love this place. It actually makes us work harder because the Bader family is so great – and so are the fans at this place.”

Yes, this is a very special event, as is more than evident by the strong turnout of exceptional Sportsman competitors, by the 30 entries in Pro Mod, and by the fact that all of the Pro categories have enough, or just more than enough entries for full fields of competition come Sunday. And it’s gonna be real good – and we wouldn’t lie about something like that. Well, we might – but we aren’t!

This is going to be short and sweet because it’s been a very long day, with qualifying running well into the evening hours, so let’s get to it.

Milliseconds after you read this every motorcycle in the field will be in the sixes. Okay, that one is a lie because the third session doesn’t take place until late Saturday afternoon, so let’s leave it like this. By the dinner hour tomorrow there might be one bike in the sevens, and he or she will also be the lone non-qualifier in the class. Hector, Jr. is at the top of the list with a 6.868, and Chaz Kennedy is sitting at Number 12 with a 7.001. Four of the five bikes behind Kennedy are also in the seven-ohs, so you can see where this is going.

While everyone would like to see the sport’s first 200 mile per hour pass in Pro Stock Motorcycle, it’s unlikely to happen due to the weather warming up a bit as the weekend goes on. But, we’ve made those foolish statements before, so don’t hold it against us when someone stops the clocks at 210 MPH! Sure, they will.

Eleven of the Top 12 in Pro Stock have run quicker than six-sixty, and this race isn’t going to feature anyone running in the ‘forties – unless they’re, you know, using something other than gasoline for fuel, or maybe in addition to gasoline. Never mind. Anyway, Jonathan Gray’s fifty-four-two is the best of the bunch, with Chris McGaha right there with a fifty-four-three. The usual suspects are lined up behind him, including Larry Morgan, who is clearly having one of his best seasons in years. And nobody deserves it more. He’s missed one race since he turned pro in 1987. One. Yeah, he’s DNQed a few times, but the point is, he’s been there, trying, non-stop. Gotta give the guy credit for perseverance.

Alas, there are but 16 entries in Funny Car, so unless someone’s been back in the pits hiding for some reason, everyone’s going to run on Sunday. What counts is positioning, and right now some farmer from Virginia is the lead guy. Just can’t think of his name ‘cause, ya know, no one’s ever heard of the guy before today. Oh, wait. I remember now. He has been racing for a while, and his name is, uh, lemme think. Hagan. Yeah, that’s it, Matt Hagan.

Now, is this a portent of things to come? Friday afternoon Hagan and his gang had a little winner’s circle photo shoot. Okay, it was from the Bristol race, where circumstances prevented there being a formal photo shoot, but from the way his guys acted, you know darn well they’d like another one on Sunday afternoon. After Hagan thumped out a track-record 3.986/322.96 they might just be on their way to getting it, too.

Let’s go over those numbers again, shall we? 3.986/322.96. That’s impressive. Now, Del Worsham was darn close with a speed of 321.42, but his elapsed time of 4.005 was just a little short. Sure, there might be another three second run out there, but it will have to come Saturday evening, because we don’t see it happening during the afternoon hours tomorrow, nor do we see it coming on Sunday.

Worth mentioning? All 12 cars listed as “locked in” are in the four-ohs. That’s pretty darn good on any track.

When Spencer Massey sped to the top spot in Top Fuel (in a track-record 3.741 seconds – Zowie!) Don Schumacher had a strangle hold on both fuel categories. Ah, but qualifying is one thing, and eliminations another. And few understand this as well as does Mr. Schumacher, because he’s lived it himself a time or two. You know, blistering the timers on Friday and Saturday and on Sunday, smoking the tires, or blowing up, or the car won’t start or something else. He just knows and understands how tough it is to win. From the outside it sometimes appears as if he’s too demanding as a team owner, but he’s really not. He wants to win. For his sponsors, for his fans and particularly for his drivers.

Brittany Force is right behind Massey, but if her car keeps progressing as it has thus far this year, she won’t be behind anyone much longer. She’s a win waiting to happen, and that’s important. With each passing race more and more eyes are focused on the Force girls, and fewer are focused on the family patriarch. John Force is always going to have zillions of fans, but those fans are aging. Courtney and Brittany are the future, not only of John Force Racing, but of drag racing. We’re in an age when… Wait. We’re always in an age where the young, the talented and, let’s face it, the gorgeous are going to dominate the media and attract the most rabid of fans, and that’s as it should be.

Nineteen dragsters ran on Friday, and the qualifying list, from first to last, is a mess. Guys that should be near the top aren’t even close, which means that guys who are usually, well, also-rans, are pretty darn close to getting into Sunday’s show. In the next two runs we’re bound to see major changes in the listings.

So, we’ll be back again, late Saturday night, to try and sort it all out. But really, why bother reading this when you could be here in person? I mean, you oughta be. I know if I lived within a couple hundred miles of Norwalk, I’d be here. Either way, we’ll do our best to fill you in on everything. Later…