2009 NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - THAT DAY OF RECKONINH IS UPON THE FUNNY CAR CLASS; SCHUMACHER WINS AGAIN; EDWARDS DOMINATES
WORSHAM: THE DAY HAS ARRIVED - The day the competition feared has arrived.
Entering the 2009 season, Del Worsham carried the monstrous expectations of a drag racing community who assumed his association with championship team owner Alan Johnson all but guaranteed a Funny Car title.
Then, they stumbled and then, they stumbled again.
What was deemed to be the almighty team didn’t appear to be so almighty.
Then, Worsham won at the NHRA O'Reilly Midwest Nationals in St. Louis and there was concern from the competition that early season expectations were close to becoming fulfilled. Still, with the previous early season shortfalls, there was a measure of doubt.
All doubt was removed Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., as Del Worsham drove to low elapsed time in the final round to stop dark horse challenger Tony Pedregon. The victory marked the second of 2009 for the upstart nitro Funny Car team.
Upstart? That’s a laugher but it’s the truth.
“This win was for Aaron Brooks and Alan Johnson,” Worsham said. “The team got together and put a new engine in the car before the finals. They told me it would run a 4.08 and it ran a 4.07 – that’s pretty darn close.”
Those aren’t the typical actions of a first year team, especially when they’ve hung the rods out of an engine and coasted to the win in the previous round.
“This team has gelled together quicker than I could have imagined,” Worsham said. “I hadn’t won back-to-back races in almost five years. What I saw today was the combination of two teams coming together as one, the Top Fuel team with our Funny Car.”
Worsham wasn’t exaggerating either.
“They put this car back together and basically changed every part on it,” Worsham explained. “It shows you what kind of team we have with everyone working together. Aaron Brooks leads this team and this is basically his first full season as a crew chief.”
The Bristol victory marked the 24th for Worsham in 37 final rounds which now ranks him seventh best among the all-time Funny Car winners.
His current ride could be considered as the one that provides him with the best chance he’s ever had to contend for a championship.
“That’s a definite possibility,” Worsham said. “In 2004, we were running great but a lot of rule changes that season affected our team. The endless supply of parts and pieces that we have here is something I’ve never experienced in my career.”
The time to really be concerned may well have arrived.
DO HAVE ANY DOUBTS NOW? - To all of those who thought Tony Schumacher would stumble and fall with the departure of crew 
chief, Alan Johnson, what can you possibly say now?
Schumacher is unbeaten when he reaches the final round this year. Winning at Bristol Dragway made it three for three, as the defending Top Fuel World Champion logged his third win of the season, 59th of his career as he climbed back atop the Top Fuel point standings, in the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
No, the wins are not coming as easy as they did last year, but it's not because the team is worse off without crew chief and now competing car owner, Alan Johnson. His crew is in fact, according to Schumacher, “bad to the bone”.
“I don't have two tenths of a second head start,” said Schumacher of the difference between last year and this year. “Alan has a great tune-up on a car. He does. But, I love it.”
To drive the point home Schumacher reached back to the first race of 2008.
“First race, it was Doug Kalitta and me first round and I said, 'this is perfect. We're going to win a lot of races this year, because I am going to have to suck it up from the first time I push the pedal down.' It's like you motivate from the beginning and right now, I'm motivated. I have to win.
“AJ is the greatest crew chief in the world. I get it. We all understand it. But, he doesn't win all the races, because it takes eight guys to do it, it takes a driver to do it. It takes a whole select group and AJ understand that. It's everyone else who says he is the only one who can win races.”
It was almost ironic that Schumacher edged out Doug Kalitta for the win. The two are now tied with three wins apiece at Bristol Dragway.
“Kalitta in the finals. I can't stress enough how great it is to race him. We have so much history battling amongst ourselves. He's a true champion and the margin in the race was three hundredths of a second and that's outstanding,” said Schumacher. “We won 15 races last year and right now there are a variety of teams winning. You just have to step up, sit up in the seat, drive the car well and the crew has to do their job well.”
Schumacher is making a strong point with each win and an equally strong point with each loss.
First and foremost, he is winning despite all the negative preseason press and second when the team has lost it hasn't been because they've left something on the table. It’s important, both as a father and a leader that even in defeat this driver knows both he and the team have done their best.
When I am old enough for my children to have children, I want them to be able to point to me and tell my grandchildren that there is a man who never left anything on the table.
In Bristol, Schumacher and company certainly cleared the table, as he raced past Terry Haddock, Morgan Lucas, Brandon Bernstein and in the finals over Kalitta, with 3.857 to Kalitta's 3.879. Schumacher never trailed in the final race, squeaking off the line with a .068 to Kalitta's .074.
NO SURPRISES, EDWARDS DOMINATES - A bull in a china shop would have been less conspicuous than the domination Mike 
Edwards displayed this past weekend.
Edwards left no doubt that he was the man to beat at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Pro Stock title from day one when he moved to the top of the qualifying order in the first session. He then solidified his hold on the top spot in the second qualifying session. On the final day of qualifying, when he couldn’t improve on his Friday effort, he was still the quickest each time down the track.
On Sunday he saved the best for last as he not only established low elapsed time for the event, set a new track ET record and scored his second NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock victory of the 2009 season.
Whatever has ailed the former sportsman world champion from Coweta, Ok., on race day in the past clearly appears to be gone. Edwards was flawless as he beat Greg Anderson in the final round of eliminations.
Edwards held a sign that read “I’m the man” as he conducted his post-run interview. The modest Edwards didn’t write the sign but he sure epitomized its words.
“I don’t know if I am … but we ran so good,” Edwards said. “Every run we got just a little bit better each time. I can’t believe we ran as well as we did.”
The victory moved Edwards into to top amongst the all-time Pro Stock winners.
Edwards has consistently credited his new in-house engine program for his recent success, outside of his Christian faith.
“Roger Stull, my long time friend and business partner, we made the decision that we were going to make one last attempt to do this the right way, or at least in the way we believed was right,” Edwards said. “We lowered the boom, stepped out into the water and the Lord met us halfway.”
Edward greatly resembled the legendary basketball star Michael Jordan with his latest victory. Against logic, Jordan would loft a ball and it would miraculously find the net. Then he would shrug his shoulders in disbelief.
Edwards exhibited the same facial mannerisms with each winning round.
He made it look effortless. It wasn't, a point Edwards is quick to make.
“I don’t think anyone outside of those who run in this class know just how hard it really is to win one of these races,” Edwards explained. “When you have the caliber of competition that we have in this class they inspire you to be the best. You want to beat them. When you can beat the legends in this class like we have been able to do, it’s as if you’re living a dream. This goes beyond an awesome feeling. It’s a feeling of being blessed beyond what your mind can imagine.”
THANK GOD FOR EXPERIENCE AND TWO PAIR OF SHORTS – The dragstrip is no place to be cutting off the guy in the other lane, or 
making right and left turns for that matter.
However, that is exactly what John Force did in his first round race against Jack Beckman. After a lengthy staging battle, Force left on Beckman, only to lose the advantage in the latter portion of the track.
Force slid out of the groove and made an abrupt right turn into Beckman’s lane, barely avoiding a collision.
"I've been wearing glasses lately for better vision. If they're going to give me that good a vision for the rest of the year I don't ever want to wear them again," Beckman said with a laugh.
Beckman got in trouble early on the run battling tire shake and then spun the tires, which turned out to be a good thing.
"It moved over towards the centerline quite a bit,” Beckman said. “So, I had my hands full and I had my eyes full. I'm trying to get our car back over in the middle of the lane and then all of a sudden this big green and white thing is sideways in my lane.
"And, in these cars everything is delayed. You hit the throttle, there's a small delay. You lift off the throttle there's a small delay. You move the steering wheel and it doesn't respond right away at speed because there's so much downforce everything deflects and it's got play in it. So it looks like I'm not doing anything for a while.
"I'm telling the car to go right, I'm steering the car right and it's not going right. And here's Force further in my lane. So, here's that moment when you're thinking, Do I try to lock the brakes up, which means letting go of the steering wheel with one hand or do I try to get back on the throttle without being too abrupt and squeeze on through.
"So I'm trying to squeeze the throttle down and by that time he'd started moving over some, and I kind of shot (past) him. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful run," he said with another laugh.
Force was fighting an errant car like a driver amped up on Full Throttle Energy Drink, or maybe one with a new steering box.
“I was wound up,” Force admitted. “We changed the steering box in the car. It was real hard steering, so the guys loosened it. It wasn't the feel that I knew but close enough. I just needed to put a few runs in it. When it went right, I whipped it back, like I always do, but it whipped too far and then when it went left I thought 'oh man whip it back' and I whipped and it blew the tires and made a violent right turn and that's when I could see blue.
“I thought, 'he's going to t-bone me' and then I whipped it as hard as I could and that old Mustang it steers and I brought her back. And, he was doing some steering too to stay off me. So, we got out of there.”
This was definitely a time when Force needed a lot of experience.
“Oh without a doubt, and two pairs of shorts!” Force added, with his trademark smile.
THE STREAK CONTINUES – Top Fuel racer Tony Schumacher extended his success in the first round of NHRA Full Throttle events. The U.S. Army-sponsored driver captured his 34th consecutive first round victory and did so in impressive fashion with low elapsed time of the round and a convincing victory over Terry Haddock with a 3.880, 303.30.
PULDE’S PLAYGROUND – Bristol Dragway officials inducted one of the more colorful nitro Funny Car drivers into their most revered 
circle of recognition.
Dale Pulde, whose exploits behind the wheel of the legendary War Eagle Funny Car made him a legend, was recognized as the newest inductee into the Legends of Thunder Valley.
He was the only inductee in 2009.
“I was thrilled,” Pulde said. “This has been one of my favorite tracks since I was a kid. When you’re honored with something like this, it’s like the icing on the cake.”
Pulde joins an illustrious group of members including Bruton Smith, Wally Parks, Larry Carrier, Rickie Smith, Sox & Martin and Don Garlits.
Pulde has five victories to his credit while racing in Bristol. He is a three-time IHRA world champion who has won 20 national crowns in a career that began when he was only 15 years old.
“When I came to Bristol for the first time in 1968, we did the tech in the circle track,” Pulde recalled. “I came to the track and just stood in awe. I had never seen a drag strip like this.
“I wondered to myself how they could top that strip. It was amazing the first time I had ever seen it. It’s even more amazing now. They’ve done a wonderful job on this place.”
Pulde has always reserved a special place in his heart for the facility originally built by Larry Carrier and later renovated by Bruton Smith. The strip may now carry the Bristol Dragway moniker but in his heart, the famed facility carved between the mountains will forever be known as Thunder Valley.
Thunder Valley was once his sandbox.
“This could be considered my playground track,” Pulde admitted, adding he’s considered relocating to the area from Southern California.
“The fans in this area and in the south, are really good drag racing fans. I’ve grown to love the area.”
He’s sold a lot of t-shirts in Bristol, too.
“Before we had major sponsorship that’s how my partner and I survived was on t-shirt sales,” Pulde said. “I have seen people out here with those old shirts on, still wearing them. The ones we sold them back then.”
ONLY IN BRISTOL – Driver interviews you will only hear at Bristol.
"The car came plum off of the ground."
"I boogered up the car."
"I'm sure Jim Dunn must have dumped some of that dog food in my dog."
"We shook like a you know what."
"Wanted to make sure the light in the other lane was red and not mauve."
WELCOME TO THE 500 CLUB – Larry Dixon became the sixth driver in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing history to win 500 rounds in competition. Dixon’s first round victory came at the expense of Pat Dakin. He won his first round of competition in 1995 over the legendary Connie Kalitta.
Dixon wasn’t as eager to get the 500th victory as much as he was to win a round of competition.
“I’m just happy to get that round win,” Dixon admitted. “Getting past first has been tough for us. It wasn’t any easier that time. It went out and rattled the tires because the track is tight.
ADDING TO THE RESUME – Shawn Langdon can be considered a true nitro rookie and on Friday evening during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals he added one more experience to his resume.
He experienced Top Fuel racing under the lights.
“I was pretty nervous because I had only made one night run and that was in an A/Fuel car,” Langdon said. “Because of that I had an idea of what it would be like. It was a surreal feeling. I talked to [teammate] Morgan [Lucas] about it beforehand and he told me that it would feel as if I were going a little bit faster.
“When I was pre-staged, I actually looked down track to see where the finish line was at and it looked pretty dark. I said to myself, ‘Oh boy, here we go.”
Despite the initial apprehension, Langdon fared well.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Langdon admitted. “The car went down the track and the engine stayed lit through the finish line.”
Now he’s a fan of night racing.
“I enjoyed that a lot,” Langdon said. “Friday night … we went down the track … the fireworks behind us and the champion Tony Schumacher alongside of us … there’s really no better feeling than that. It was even better when the win-light came on in our lane.”
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - LEADERS REMAIN THE SAME, THE PRO MODIFIED MEETING
THE PRO MOD MEETING - When you wreck a car, a race, you get a talking to by race officials.
One race after crashing three Pro Modified race cars in one weekend and one in testing, NHRA officials gathered the drivers together for a meeting.
No one was scolded. No one was reprimanded.
The NHRA had a genuine concern for the safety of the 240-mph doorslammer drivers.
“Jim Collins from NHRA came and talked to our drivers,” Get Screened America Pro Mod Series administrator Matthew Brammer confirmed. “Not a reprimand or anything like that, just saying 'guys, we're concerned. What can we do to help you. It was a real positive. 'We're here to help. We want you guys to be safe. Be safe.”
Brammer understands the NHRA’s concerns and appreciates the extension of interest. He understands the very nature of Pro Modified is built on cars running on the ragged edge.
“If you have to put out the bumpers to keep the guys from hurting themselves, that's not a good thing either,” Brammer admitted.
Brammer told CompetitionPlus.com that following the meeting with the NHRA, veteran drag racing school instructor Frank Hawley spent 15 minutes talking with the drivers on the science of changing their minds of when to lift from an errant race car.
This weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals hosted only 12 cars, about half the number of cars invited to participate in the invitational exhibition category.
Brammer admitted there were mitigating circumstances which contributed to low car count such as the obvious crashes in St. Louis as well as a multitude of regional Quick Eight races which conflict. Then there is the state of the economy that forces to races to act frugal.
“There are two local Pro Mod Association races that some of the guys running 6.30's, 6.40's, they can go over there and win a race and get a little bit of a bigger purse then come over here and maybe qualify if we had a full field,” Brammer explained. “I've got a list of more than 50 cars that could be competitive here at any time. I think a majority of it is sponsors – the economy is terrible right now. I don't even know that it's so terrible, but I think people are scared and if you are a smaller budget team you take a wait and see attitude. I think that has really played into it.”
One has to wonder if the NHRA needed to have this meeting with the drivers if only to have enough cars to finish the season.
“If you look at the end of the season, my fields are full,” Brammer contends. “I think it was a perfect storm. This weekend and the next race in Topeka our fields are going to be short. I got a dozen this weekend. In Topeka, right now, I think I've got 16, so it’s going to be short. But, then we get to Englishtown I've got 23 cars, or at least I do now. Everything changes, that’s subject to change.”
IMPRESSED WITH SATURDAY – Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards confessed that he was more impressed with his pair of 
Saturday runs during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals than the one that put him atop the field for the fourth time in 2009.
Saturday he may not have been quicker but he didn’t leave anything on the table headed into Sunday’s final eliminations either. The second day was spent seeking that edge of the envelope for race day.
“We just tried to keep up with the track and make our adjustments,” Edwards said. “I was more impressed with our runs today than I was on Friday because we left some on the table then. We made some really good runs in the heat of the day.”
Edwards was nearly .05 slower on Saturday but that fall in performance was proportionate with the conditions he had to work with. He ran a 6.74 in the opening session and returned in the final with a 6.73, both runs representing the quickest of the day.
“I think they provide me with as good of a chance as anyone,” Edwards said of his Saturday runs. “You race the track when you are qualifying. You have to race the track every time on Sunday but you also have to run the guy in the other lane. I have struggled with my driving on Sunday but hopefully I can turn that around.”
Sunday may require the former NHRA sportsman world champion to call on his years of experience to battle a tricky racing surface that can often confuse even the most seasoned veterans.
“Pretty tricky track to get down … with the bumps, but my guys have done a great job with this car and we have made four incredible runs this weekend,” Edwards said. “I want to give God the glory because I am blessed to be out here.”
CONSISTENCY OVER UPPER DECK SHOTS – Cory McClenathan doesn’t need to be make incredible runs to feel like a hero. Give the 
veteran driver from Brownsburg, Ind., a series of consistent runs and he’ll work just fine.
McClenathan’s Friday 3.874 second pass at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals went untouched and that enabled him to claim his 33rd career pole position. It marked the first time he’s gone into Sunday’s final eliminations as the leader this season.
Being the top dragster has its perks, but for McClenathan, he’s content with being able to win from any qualifying position. Repeatability inspires McClenathan.
“Consistency means everything to me,” McClenathan said. “To beat us you are going to have to go down the track. I think that is one of the great things my crew chiefs have given me – a car that is consistent. We may not always be the quickest car in competition but we are consistent. It forces their hand because they know they have to run from point A to point B and be quick off of the starting line. Feast or famine just doesn’t work well for me.”
Base hitting for McClenathan’s FRAM team doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t swing for the fences if the opportunity arises.
“We will throw a shot out there every once in awhile and we did that last night,” McClenathan admitted. “The guys gave me some advance warning to shut off if I needed to. Last night we were able to take advantage of the situation. You won’t see that all the time from us but you will see us go to the finish line under power.”
Being a consistent car as opposed to the fastest has its pluses and minuses. Not being the quickest forces his hand at driving but being the most consistent also warns the competition to bring a combination that will reach the finish line quickly under power as well.
“It forces me to be a better driver on the starting line but on the same token, it provides me with a lot of confidence to know that my car will run when I need it to,” McClenathan said. “Today we tried some things that we planned to test on Monday. I just talked to the boys and they told me that we are going back to Friday’s tune-up since it is supposed to be considerably cooler.
“Of course we know how well the weatherman has forecast the last two days.”
McClenathan enters Sunday’s eliminations ranked fourth in the championship point standings.
TALE OF TWO SEASONS - Two years ago Ashley Force Hood was on the outside looking in on race day. Today at Bristol Dragway she 
will enter the 9th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals eliminations from the No. 1 qualifying spot and loaded with confidence.
“It is satisfying (getting No. 1 spot). It just shows you how things can turn around. One day can be the worst day and the next day could be the greatest. As much as some people feel there are certain tracks you will struggle at and others you will be good at sometimes I see a pattern and sometimes not so much,” said Force Hood. “We seem to do better at Atlanta and there are other tracks like Bristol where we have struggled. This year we have been able to overcome that and do better. There is always hope that you will do better. You have just as good a chance as anyone else.”
This is Ashley's fifth No. 1 and second in three races. She has never won from No. 1 but has gone to the finals the last two times she has started on the pole (Memphis, 2008, and Atlanta, 2009). She will race Andy Kelley in the first round. They have never raced against each other. This is the 207th Funny Car No. 1 for John Force Racing, Inc.
NOT HITTING ON MUCH – Robert Hight’s Funny Car team has enjoyed better weekends than their 2009 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals outing. On every qualifying attempt the team struggled to reach the finish line under power and was shut off on the starting line once.
The frustrating weekend resulted in their first DNQ since Houston in 2008.
“We had some things go wrong but we also didn’t do a good job,” Hight admitted. “This weekend wasn’t a good indicator of how good this team is. We have been in the fight for the championship every year. Our sponsors don’t pay us to perform like this. We have got to get our act together and we will. I’ve got a great team and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. We will get through this and this team will be in contention.”
VALVOLINE EXTENDS DSR CONTRACT - Valvoline and Don Schumacher Racing announced on Saturday during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals a contract extension through 2010. Under the agreement, Valvoline will appear at 13 races this season as primary sponsor on the Funny Car driven by Jack Beckman.
“We are thrilled to extend this relationship,” conveyed
Rob Clendening, Manager- Global Brands for Ashland. “We are like all sponsors in that we are watching every dollar we spend. We are very demanding in what we get back for the money we spend. We are picky about the sponsorships we choose.
“It is critical for Valvoline to partner with teams that can provide big wins even before the cars hit the track. DSR is that type of partner. The team’s on-track success is not just the icing on the cake, but it really pushes our research and development team to constantly deliver the next technical innovation.”
Team owner Don Schumacher, whose team has won 128 NHRA national events and seven world championships since 1998, has been associated with Valvoline dating back to the 1960s. He ran Valvoline in his personal race cars throughout his driving career.
“Besides the monetary support they provide which allows us to come out here and race, they provide us a product that surpasses anything we’ve ever used,” Schumacher explained. “Their engineers work closely with our team if there’s ever any new hiccups we develop in the bearing or rear-end area in our race cars or the rigs that go down the road, they have jumped in there and helped us in resolving those issues.
“It’s a great relationship. I’m thrilled in these economic times to be able to announce a multi-year continuation of our relationship. We look to win world championships and that’s why we race.”
Beckman has represented Valvoline for as long as they have been a part of DSR in the modern era. That suits Beckman fine considering that he’s been a longtime Valvoline customer. Even when he was a paid endorser for another oil company, Beckman confided that he still purchased Valvoline.
“I think the proof of belief in a product is not how much you use when you get it for free,” Beckman explained. “I think it’s when you have to pay for something. When I was a sportsman racer, I used it in my race car and personal vehicles. I think it’s a matter of putting your money where your mouth is.”
JOHNSON'S NOBLE CAUSE - Allen Johnson learned the importance of family early in life.
The Pro Stock driver from Greeneville, Tenn., announced on Friday during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals that he will carry the colors of Foster Care Appreciation Month in conjunction with the locally based Free Will Baptist Family Ministries [FWBFM], a group which provides a shelter for displaced children.
Johnson was introduced to FWBFM as a kid. Then, Johnson recalls, the home was known as an orphanage. It didn’t take Johnson long to understand how blessed he was to have a close-knit family.
“This is something that is near and dear to my heart,” Johnson said. “I grew up with a lot of kids from the Free Will Baptist Family Ministries. They take in a lot of state orphans. Maybe the kids’ parents had been sent to jail and the home tutored them and took care of them until the parents came back.”
Johnson remembers the times his family would take in some of the displaced children, if only to provide a semblance of what a family is like. He’ll always remember the pain he saw in their faces.
“It is probably tough to relate to what they are going through,” Johnson said. “I grew up with quite a few of the orphans and my mom even brought a few of them to the house from time to time.”
Johnson said his mother's favorite time to bring one of kids into the home was at Christmastime.
“She just always wanted to share with those who didn’t have anything,” Johnsons said. “This is something that people should get behind and help those children feel better about life.”
Johnson conducted a gathering on Friday afternoon at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals aimed at bringing awareness to foster parenting as a means of healing the hurts in these displaced children.
He visits the FWBFM home a couple of times during the year and finds it hard to fight back the emotions.
“It’s hard not to get choked up,” Johnson admits. “I usually take my kids with me because I want them to see and understand how fortunate we are to have family. It’s not hard to get inspired to support a program this worthy.”
Dr. James S. Kilgore, Director of the FWBFM, believes the introduction of the foster parenting cause to the drag racing community works as a huge positive.
“We are so appreciative for what Allen Johnson has done for us,” Kilgore said. “This is beyond what we could imagine in terms of bringing awareness.”
The timing is perfect because May is Foster Care Appreciation month.
“We are thanking all of the foster families who have stepped forward to become foster families,” Kilgore added. “There is a tremendous need for foster families.
“We are running this program because every teenager deserves a family so we are asking for couples to be families to these hurting boys and girls.”
For more information, visit the home’s website at http://www.fwbfm.com/.
A BELATED THANK YOU - Vietnam War Hero and Medal of Honor recipient Seargeant Major. Jon R. Cavaiani attended the NHRA Thunder Valley 
Drag races today along with several veterans from the Vietnam War as guests of Roger Burgess and the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge. Cavaiani is one of only 98 living Medal of Honor recipients.
Cavaiani and a group of veterans sipped coffee and reminisced about their experience serving our country in Vietnam. Brought together through the combined efforts of R2B2 Racing, Cavaiani, and NHRA through a program called The Vietnam Veterans Corner.
R2B2 Racing currently spearheads the program reaching out to Vietnam War Veterans. Cavaiani is a regular at every Pro Mod Challenge race, and each weekend he is accompanied by a handful of other Vietnam War veterans. The NHRA provides the tickets and R2B2 funds upgrades and provides hospitality for the veterans.
R2B2 Funny Car driver Melanie Troxel has taken on a key role in coordinating the program. Troxel said, "It is meant to be a belated welcome home for the veterans, as a thank you for what you all did for our country."
The program is established, but the goal of R2B2 racing and Cavaiani is to perpetuate and expand to program to reach more vets. Cavaiani said, "This is about letting Vietnam Veterans know they are not forgotten."
Troxel added, "We didn't do a great job welcoming and thanking the Vietnam War veterans for what they did for our country, and we want to in our small way learn from that mistake and make amends.
"There are bigger things going on in the world then what we get caught up in on a week to week basis in racing, sometimes it helps to remember that. This program is about educating the next generation and being grateful," she said.
HOGAN, THE PART-TIMER - Richard Hogan finds himself between full-time tuning gigs and that doesn’t bother him all that much. At the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Hogan was working one of his twelve planned stops on the 2009 schedule. He’s turning the wrenches for part-time NHRA Full Throttle racer Bob Bode.
Last year Hogan was called off of the sidelines to tune for Don Schumacher Racing. The disbanding of the Gary Scelzi team at the conclusion of 2008 returned Hogan to part-time.
Hogan has long been considered a dragster guy and in an economic climate when nitro tuners are rapidly becoming flexible in their tuning, Hogan adjusted to the challenges of Funny Car last season.
That experience has come in handy this season.
“Well, it's different. It's harder,” Hogan admitted. “Working on Scelzi's car last year helped a bunch and they already had a tune-up here.”
Hogan is biding his time and eager for the opportunity to return to a full-time effort.
“When there's enough cars,” Hogan said. “Right now it’s kinda light. Part time is not bad. I enjoyed running intermittent races and skipping the western swing. There are a lot of pluses to part time racing. You don't make as much money, but it's not as involved.”
Then there are the advantages of not racking up those frequent flier miles in traveling from race to race.
“You get to do everything you don't do when you race all the time,” Hogan explained. “You're not in a big rush when you only home for two days a week and taking off again, so you have time to do stuff with your friends and stuff you miss when you are gone a lot.”
There’s a lot to miss around his home in Ennis, Montana.
Okay, that statement begs to ask the question of what does a person in Ennis?
“During the winter it gets kind of quiet, snowmobiling and stuff,” Hogan explained. “This time of year the ranchers are busy, so there is usually some sort of ranching project going on in the neighborhood somewhere, that can occupy quite a bit of time.”
Snowmobiling … does he have the quickest and fastest?
“No. No, not at all,” Hogan said. “There's guys there with nitrous and 1000cc sleds that are probably 30 miles an hour faster than mine.”
No he won’t put a supercharger on his either.
“No, no mountain climbing for me!” Hogan exclaimed, laughing at the notion.
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - MCCLENATHAN GOES FAST OVER SPECTACULAR
FAST OVER SPECTACULAR - Three years ago, Cory McClenathan figured if he couldn’t be fast that being spectacular would be just as 
good.
McClenathan’s dragster broke apart and crashed during the 2006 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Friday evening qualifying session. It was spectacular.
This time, McClenathan figured it was easier to be fast.
The 30-time national event winner drove to a 3.874 elapsed time at 312.21 miles per hour in the same right lane where he’d previously destroyed the FRAM-sponsored dragster.
“We have both ends of the deal now at this race track,” McClenathan admitted. “But when you watch this team work, they are pretty spectacular. I would give up this No. 1 on Friday for a No. 1 on Sunday.”
To hear McClenathan speak, moments after his top run he was content to hand that position over to his teammate Tony Schumacher.
Schumacher was unable to capitalize on the generosity.
“I’m so used to hearing [NHRA announcer] Bob Frey say, ‘And your new No. 1 qualifier is,'” McClenathan admitted. “You hear that a lot. Tony is my teammate and we run in front of them and it’s our job to pass on our information to them. That’s what a teammate does. You give the information to the team behind you and they can twist the wick up. I’m sure they tried to.”
So did McClenathan’s co-crew chiefs, former Funny Car tuners Todd Okuhara and Phil Shular. The dynamic duo are quickly settling into their roles as first year Top Fuel crew chiefs.
“They told me to be prepared to go very fast and to lift if I needed to,” McClenathan said. “The numbers prove that they can get the job done.”
McClenathan is one of two drivers in the Top Fuel field utilizing crew chiefs who tuned Funny Cars in the previous season.
The other, Antron Brown, leads the NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel points with tuners Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, tuners in 2009 with Bristol champion Melanie Troxel.
McClenathan admits his tuning decision makers have opposite styles which come together in perfect harmony when performance is on the line.
“Todd Okuhara is a very shy guy,” McClenathan said. “You have to beat up on him pretty good to get him riled up and going. I try my best to do that. He’s a good family man and very strong willed. He’s very methodical whereas Phil Shuler, if he could throw two trailers at it, he would. They have a very good calming effect on one another. That’s what it takes. I believe that I have the best chance I’ve ever had now to win a championship.”
That’s a far cry from a driver who might not have believed he had a chance to finish in the top ten much less contend for a title when you consider he lost most of his team to job turnover and was appointed tuners who had no experience with dragsters.
McClenathan tried to convince himself the season was salvageable although the odds appeared stacked against him.
“There were so many story lines elsewhere that I just held strong to the belief that I had adapted to change for much of my career and I could handle this,” McClenathan admitted. “I am surprised at how quickly we have come together.”
OTHERS CALLING THE SHOTS - After Ashley Force Hood called her shot during qualifying at the NHRA Southern Nationals, she got the 
attention of her fellow Funny Car competitors.
She no longer calls her shots. They call them for her.
Tim Wilkerson raced to the top of provisional Funny Car qualifying at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals with a 4.109, 295.08.in his second round attempt. When NHRA announcer Alan Reinhart asked Wilkerson about his potential top qualifying effort, he warned his supporters not to begin celebrating on his behalf.
Wilkerson was right. Force beat him with a more impressive 4.105, 298.67.
“That was really funny,” Force Hood said. “We always like to joke around with that stuff. It worked for us that one race but I haven’t used it since. I just didn’t want to jinx myself.”
There was no jinxing Force Hood as she led both sessions of qualifying on the first day.
“The second run felt so much better than our first one. That run was chaos and trying to survive and get to the finish line. That was a stressful run and I like those.”
If her run holds up, it will mark her second No. 1 of 2009.
“The first session was about getting down the track,” Force said, of leading Friday’s opening round of qualifying. “We had a good run but figured everyone else would improve and go around us. We didn’t want to mess up the Friday night session. That’s one you never want to give up.”
The daughter of Funny Car legend, Force Hood has emerged as the dominant car in a John Force Racing team that is divided between performance and failure.
“The pressure is lifted off of us and I realize it may be tense in some of the other pits,” Force Hood said. “When you are not running as well as you think you should it puts pressure on everybody. Right now we appreciate running well and we are having fun. We aren’t taking it for granted. It won’t always be that way. There will be ups and downs. We just hope they don’t come … like the other teams in my camp. If they do, we’ll just stick to our guns and try to improve.
“The success we’ve had I give to me crew chiefs and my crew. The only job I am doing right is I’m not screwing up the great car they are giving me. Each time before I run I pray that I do my job right.”
Force Hood described her crew chiefs Dean Antonelli and Ron Douglass as sponges that have soaked up knowledge from the best tuners in the business.
That is why on Saturday, Force Hood has the confidence they will make the best tuning decisions aimed not at maintaining a car that qualifies No. 1 but has the best opportunity to win the event.
“Saturday is all about getting a good grip on the track for Sunday,” Force Hood said. “You never know how the conditions will change from one day to the next. We’re not likely to run at 8:30 at night unless we follow the trend we have had for much of this season.
“I’ll be content with two good runs on Saturday.”
AN OBJECT LESSON - Mike Edwards has a game plan on Thursdays and it has nothing to do with his race car. There’s no special 
routine he goes through checking and preparing his Pontiac GXP for Friday’s qualifying sessions.
The day before an event, Edwards invites a number of inner-city youth to the track to counsel them on the positives of making the right decisions and fending off the overwhelming nature of peer pressure.
Friday night he put action to his words during qualifying for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
Edwards stormed to the provisional No. 1 position in both of Friday’s qualifying sessions, improving in the evening session with a 6.698 second run.
His lesson to the kids was to never give up.
“Well, don't ever give up,” Edwards answered, when asked what his Thursday lesson was. “I was pretty beat up here last year. You know, our “young life” program every Thursday night is truly an inspiration to me and my whole team.”
Edwards hosted 30 kids on Thursday and 75 on Friday thanks to a donation of tickets from the Bristol Dragway management.
“We made two really good runs and my guys are just doing a really, really good job,” Edwards emphasized. “We've spend a lot of time at the race track, not so much at the national event, but we've been doing a lot of testing and it's really starting to benefit us. My hat's off to the guys at the shop, Nick and Paul and everybody there. I think I have about worn them out. When you can see results like this, it sure makes you feel like your work is not going in vain. I just got a lot of people to thank, but I have to thank the Lord. He has given me so much to be thankful for; I am truly blessed.”
So were the kids from Young Life.
They were impressed, too.
KJ: REMEMBERING THUNDER VALLEY - There are moments in a teenager’s life which will never be unforgotten.
For veteran Pro Stock driver Kurt Johnson, that moment was his introduction to Bristol’s Thunder Valley Dragway, thirty years ago.
Pro Stock driver Warren Johnson, a seven-time winner at Bristol in the spring, kept his sixteen year old son up into the wee hours of the morning on his way to the first of those seven wins. Rain and wrecks made for a long day at the 1979 IRHA Sun Drop Spring Nationals and it was just minutes before 3 A.M., when Kurt watched his father cross the finish line.
For Kurt, Bristol was more than just an experience. It was a marathon.
“We made the long tow from Fridley, Minnesota,” the younger Johnson recalled. “We were racing all the southern boys down here and they really didn’t like us.”
The car the elder Johnson brought to the race was just as ugly, if not uglier, than the weather forecast. Those at the track nicknamed the 1976 Camaro the Hulk. The worn out Pro Stocker exhibited similar mannerisms to the fictional character it was named after. The car would twist, stretch and scream for the entire quarter-mile.
Standing on the starting line, long before drag racing’s insurance companies enforced minimum age requirements, the impressionable future drag racer watched in amazement.
He wondered how something so ugly could run so strong.
“It had brown primer fiberglass doors on it,” Johnson recalled. “We had actually blown the door off a few weeks earlier in Commerce, Ga.”
Those makeshift fiberglass door remained on the hinges as Johnson crossed the dew-drenched finish line ahead of the reigning Pro Stock world champion “General” Lee Edwards.
Johnson learned that to the winner goes the spoils and at 3 A.M., in the Bristol Tri-Cities area, the late night dining options are limited.
“We feasted at the Waffle House a little after 3:30 in the morning,” Johnson said of the celebration meal.
After years of racing on the big stages of the NHRA and AHRA, the Johnson family had traveled into the heart of IHRA Pro Stock and won. That was enough of a statement to grab the attention of the “locals” who didn’t take kindly to the northerner coming into their backyard and winning.
Johnson remembers the sneers and jeers associated with a trespass into the good ‘ole boy network.
“We had a big Doberman that we carried with us,” Johnson revealed. “Caesar … that was his name … kept everyone in line.”
“It was fun and we met a lot of people,” Johnson recalled.
Johnson had met most of the names on the other circuits but that weekend opened up his circle to include the names of Billy Ewing, Harold Denton and Pat Musi, just to name a few.
“All you were concerned about back then were win lights,” Johnson admitted.
One really didn’t concern themselves with the dangers of Pro Stock cars that weren’t built to run as quick as the IHRA racers were pushing their equipment. The cars Johnson and others raced were built for small block engines displacing nearly 300 cubic inches less than they had between the fenders that weekend.
Warren once referred to the early years of the mountain motor Pro Stockers as “white knuckle rides” for their tendency to make abrupt moves during the course of the run. Johnson agreed with his dad.
“I remember back then we ran on Firestone tires. The tires were only twelve inches wide and the engines were close in size to what we have now. We ran around an 8.15 elapsed time. The equipment is much better and safer today. The tracks weren’t prepared the same way, so I guess it was a white knuckle ride.
“You could see the white knuckles because you didn’t have to wear as much safety equipment. He had no safety equipment. He didn’t have any gloves … just a light safety jacket and blue jeans. Your safety equipment was your sneakers and your fire jacket.”
Did Johnson ever scream for his father to lift out of fear? Not usually. He knew the patriarch knew the right time.
“Usually when he hit the grass like he did once at Elk Creek Dragway [Va.] is when I would start saying to myself, ‘Dad lift. Lift Dad,” Johnson said. “It ended up making him a better driver.”
BROGDON: WE’VE GOT A CHANCE - All Rodger Brogdon wanted was a chance to compete.
The former Competition Eliminator standout from Tomball, Texas, not only has a chance. He’s got a very good chance.
He’s thankful to team owner Steve Kent and engine builder/power broker Victor Cagnazzi for the opportunity to draw his shorts up tight at the hit.
“I don't know about that, but it is going fast,” Brogdon said of his new mount. “We're doing real good, making a lot of progress. After every race we send the car back to Victor's shop and Tommy Utt works on it and every time we come out it seems to be a little bit quicker.”
Brogdon is in his third race since joining forces with Cagnazzi. Prior to their unification, he’d run the gamut of leasing engines and even tried building them in-house.
Pro Stock had become less of a challenge and more of a frustration.
“It got real frustrating,” Brogdon admitted. “We didn't feel like the right effort was being put out for the money we were spending. The deal came up with Victor, it was a good fit for both of us, so we jumped on the opportunity.”
Brogdon made his Cagnazzi debut at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga. He knew exactly what to do with the opportunity.
Brogdon qualified 13th the first time out, which was quite an accomplishment for a driver who had spent much of the first two years of his Pro Stock career as a spectator on race day. One reason not many Comp drivers are willing to make the jump.
“Well, there are probably not many Comp drivers that wouldn't like to do this, but it’s an awful lot of money, a lot of time,” Brogdon said. “You have to have the right engine program, team owner, car people, truck driver. It's a whole team effort. Steve and I talked about it and we both didn't really like the way Comp Eliminator was going. We didn't like some of the rule changes, so we just decided to spend a little more and do this. Steve had seven or eight cars he was helping so it really didn't cost a whole bunch more to make this jump.”
Brogdon has learned that qualifying regularly also requires more work than a team just struggling to make the show.
“If you tested 10 times a year you probably not testing enough,” Brogdon explained. “Every opportunity we get to go test, we do it. The main difference between this and Competition Eliminator – over there you are looking for hundredths, over here you are looking for thousandths. You have to do a lot of things here you wouldn't normally do racing Competition Eliminator, because we're all looking for those thousandths.”
ALLEN JOHNSON’S WHIRLWIND WEEK - Allen Johnson can’t help but wonder if a midweek accident in a pre-Bristol test session 
worked in his favor alleviating pressure which usually accompanies an event deemed as his hometown race.
Johnson, of Greeneville, Tenn., knows the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals is the one race where he gets to perform before hundreds of friends and family. That creates a pressure to perform like none of the other stops on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Johnson crashed his Mopar-sponsored Dodge Stratus earlier in the weekend while testing in Radford, Va., when his parachutes failed to deploy. Johnson turned the car into an earthen berm to scrub speed off the race car.
Days before a major event is an inopportune time to crash a Pro Stocker, as if there is really a right time for such a calamity. But, in this case the crash has worked to refocus Johnson.
“My team has been working night and day to get everything lined up with the new parts and pieces,” Johnson said. “It’s just been a little bit of drama that has taken all of the usual anxiety out of my system.”
There’s a huge anxiety that accompanies ensuring friends, family and vendors of his business are entertained before and during a national event drag race.
“It’s a non-stop weekend,” Johnson admits. “On Friday my phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I’ve had to concentrate more on getting the car out here.”
Yes, there are those who want tickets.
“I’ve had about 80 phone calls for tickets and made about six trips to will call,” Johnson admitted. “It’s a lot of work but these are people who have been good to me.”
Then there are the details associated with repairing his Pro Stocker. Johnson took his wounded racer to Galesburg, Ill., for the necessary repairs by chassis builder Rick Jones. One of the troublesome areas of repairing the car was in finding a suitable carbon fiber front end in time for the weekend’s event.
That’s when Jones offered up a front end from a spare Stratus belonging to part-time Pro Stock racer John Nobile.
“I just hope that we have covered the purple up to the point that it won’t jinx us,” Johnson said. “It was really nice of John to allow us to do that and Rick to get the car fixed like he did. I’m just glad we had one sitting around.”
What's the problem with the purple on the nose?
“Purple and me … we have history,” Johnson admitted. “I’ve just always felt that was a color that will jinx you.”
Johnson has no basis for his reasoning. He just always believed purple was a bad color to be associated with.
“Ever since I was a kid, I have felt that way,” Johnson said.
Johnson suffered no ill-effects of either the former purple front end or the wrecked racer by racing to the No. 6 position in qualifying with a 6.723 elapsed time at 204.94 miles per hour in his second qualifying run.
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WEDNESDAY NOTEBOOK - LOCAL PRO STOCK HERO CRASHES IN TESTING, ANTRON'S MOMENTUM
SETBACK FOR THE LOCAL HERO - NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson was uninjured in a crash Tuesday afternoon while 
testing at Motor Mile Dragway in Radford, Va.
Johnson confirmed he crashed his Mopar-sponsored Dodge Stratus into an earthen berm when both parachutes failed to deploy after an eighth-mile testing run.
“I just couldn’t get it stopped and the shutdown was a little bumpy,” Johnson explained in a Tuesday evening phone call. “I tried to turn the car around and ended up hitting the berm and it tore the front-end off of the car.”
Johnson said the car suffered extensive front end damage but is repairable and he plans to run the car during Friday’s qualifications for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
“We’ll put another front end on it and be ready for Friday,” Johnson added.
Johnson told CompetitionPlus.com that he’d checked the shutdown area before making the run and had developed in his mind a course of action in the event something went awry.
“When it happened I had to deviate a little because the bumps at the finish line prevented me from scraping off any speed,” Johnson said. “I had run 165 mph to the eighth-mile. When the car started bouncing I was probably still doing about 120. I just had to turn it sideways and hope it didn’t go over.
“This is an awesome little track to test at. The reason we went up there to test was to get conditions similar to what we’ll get this weekend in Bristol.”
CALL HIM MR. MOMENTUM - 
Momentum bodes well for Top Fuel driver Antron Brown.
The combination of winning the most recent event and heading into a race where his crew chiefs are defending champions only ups the ante for the former Pro Stock Motorcycle standout turned nitro frontrunner.
Ask Brown how excited he is about this weekend’s event and chances are he won’t hold back much.
"Man, I'm fired up about going to Bristol,” Brown proclaimed. “We've got 'big blue' back for Bristol with our Matco Tools colors and our car is running great. Mark (Oswald) and Brian (Corradi) have this Matco dragster hauling and we have such a great team here at MAR. Bristol is an awesome track and our goal is to continue to go rounds and stay consistent with the performance of this Matco dragster.”
Last year Brown’s talented tuning duo of Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald tuned Melanie Troxel to a soggy winner’s circle after rains wreaked havoc on the day’s schedule.
Last year’s triumph was great but for Corradi there’s no better time than the present.
"The goal is to pick up where we left off at St. Louis,” Corradi explained. “As boring as it sounds, we're going to try and qualify well, a little better than we did at St. Louis, and stay consistent and go some rounds on race day. Qualifying well is important to having success on race day and those qualifying points can add up too."
Brown enters the eighth race on the 2009 NHRA schedule leading the NHRA Top Fuel standings, a position he’s held following four of seven races this season. The second-year Top Fuel racer has two wins in three final round appearances along with two No. 1 qualifying efforts this season.
Brown qualified fourth at this event last year and reached the quarters.
the car at this weekend's NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway.Capps, who has led the Funny Car point standings in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series since the first event of the year, is geared up to win a third national event at this facility and his fourth of the season as he aims for his first NHRA Funny Car championship this year. He has faith in his crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch and the NAPA Adaptive One Brakes Dodge Funny Car.
"We talked earlier in the season about success breeding confidence," said Capps, Bristol champion in 2001 and 2006. "There's been a lot of confidence built in me as a driver by the success the NAPA team has had so far. We've even brought out new chassis at the start of a race weekend in the past and where a lot of teams might make check-out runs to make sure everything was OK with a brand-new car, we've run it straight to the finish line.
"One would think that the car going consistently down the track may not have anything to do with a driver's confidence at the Christmas Tree or even during the run, but it surely does in our sport. And we felt like we had the car to beat, and the change in attitude and approach of the team and Ace this year is all just a combination of getting an eraser out on the chalkboard and starting from scratch."
Adaptive One Brake Pads are designed to reduce noise and brake dust without sacrificing the "stop-on-a-dime" braking power. During the month of May, NAPA is offering a great rebate of up to $90 on a four-wheel brake job using NAPA’s Adaptive One Brake Pads. For all the rebate details, consumers may go to AdaptiveOne.com.
"Any time you have a sponsor that wants to release a new product with your car being painted up to represent that is always nice," said Capps, who holds a solid 119-point margin over the next Funny Car in the standings. "It just shows how exciting the product is, first of all, to your sponsor. To be able to run the colors of Adaptive One Brakes not just as a sticker on the side of the car but as a completely different paint scheme, is a thrill for me.
"I think every team likes to win first time out with a new sponsor and/or paint scheme. We'd like to do that in Bristol," added Capps. "It's a great product. Who doesn't want the brakes on their personal car to not squeak or get dust all over their wheels? Everybody can relate to that."
BADDEST HOT ROD, TERRIBLE LUCK - Last year Mike Neff made a statement early in his rookie season when he raced his then Old Spice sponsored Ford Mustang to the 
No. 1 qualifying position and on race day he defeated veterans Tony Bartone, Ron Capps, and Robert Hight en route to his second consecutive final round appearance of the season.
He had the baddest hot rod on the property but a surprise mechanical problem in the final round at Bristol Dragway led to an upset loss against Melanie Troxel.
As Neff’s Ford Mustang pulled up to stage his team was unable to lift his Mustang body. As a result crew chief John Medlen was unable to make critical engine adjustments to his BOSS 500 Ford motor. At the top end Neff’s Mustang erupted in flames as Troxel pedaled and drove past him.
“I’m saying ‘Let’s go! Let’s go!’ (NHRA Official Starter) Rick Stewart is in front of us motioning to go but when we couldn’t get the body up Medlen couldn’t get in there and arm all the switches which I didn’t know he armed those things. I’m just saying go let’s go. So naturally none of the system worked and that is why it backfired (exploded),” said an exasperated Neff from the top end.
His first round victory in Bristol last season was also the 500th round win for crew chief John Medlen.
Neff capped his rookie season by picking up the 2008 Auto Club Road to the Future Award, awarded each season to the top professional rookie performer. Neff followed in teammates Ashley Force Hood (2007) and Robert Hight (2005) footsteps in winning the award. His spectacular final round versus Troxel while not a win, was one of the highlights that kept his name top of mind for the rest of the season.
Two weeks ago in St. Louis Neff’s now Ford Drive One sponsored Mustang was on tremendous run in the first round versus Tim Wilkerson when according to an early evaluation by crew chief John Medlen the number two piston loaded up and punched out dislodging the supercharger and surprising the sophomore driver Neff.
“It was trucking along then the next thing I knew boom. It happened super fast. It didn’t give me any warning at all,” said Neff.
It was another setback for Neff and crew chief John Medlen considering the No. 2 piston had not previously been a problem. The good news is between these two world champion crew chiefs they will get to the bottom of the problem in time for the 9th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
So far this season Neff has continued to improve as a driver with a prime example being his stellar .017 reaction time versus Wilkerson in the first round in St. Louis. Neff is getting more comfortable behind the wheel and that will pose problems as the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads towards the halfway point of the regular season. With all John Force Racing Mustangs in the Top Ten Neff wants to move up into the top half of the Top Ten to have a shot at this first championship as a driver.
CONSISTENCY THE KEY - Last season, Tim Wilkerson made winning look so effortless.
This season has been a greater challenge for Wilkerson, which comes as no surprise.
He knew after finishing runner-up for the championship last year, that the expectations would be lofty in 2009.
That’s why Wilkerson’s toughest challenge at present is to find the right balance between a healthy effort and trying too hard. The driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Cobra has finally clawed his way back into the top ten in points.
"One of the real direct things between drag racing and other sports is the tendency to try too hard, and you see that all the time," Wilkerson said. "You can't score a 21-point touchdown, and you can't hit a six-run home run, so trying to get it all back or take over the world in one big shot just doesn't work. I get impatient too, just like anyone, but once we left Pomona we knew we had to focus on doing everything like we've always done it. You just go step by step with everything under control. When you try to do too much, you over-step it and just go backwards.
"Whether it's qualifying or racing on Sunday, you have to be calm about how you're attacking each lap and you can't get too excited about jumping all over one pass, unless you have one of those free shots where you can go ahead and lean on it a little to see what's out there. On Sunday, if you're racing a car that's been faster than you, you still have to race the track. How many times do you see the slower car go up there and instantly smoke the tires, which just hands the round to the other guy? It happens all the time, but we try not to fall into that. We try to just go up there and go as quick and fast as we can, and then hope for the best. Hopefully, we'll leave the mistakes to the other guys."
Wilkerson opened the 2009 season with an unceremonious DNQ when rain abbreviated qualifying to just one day. He’s since rebounded with impressive consistency in winning the first round in five of the last six events.
At the last two races, in Atlanta and St. Louis, Wilkerson has shown flashes of the same impressive performances of 2008. He's not been the fastest, nor the quickest, at any event, but he's almost always been one of the most consistent.
"We still do need to get a little faster, because the really tight races against the quickest cars are really a toss-up, at this point," Wilkerson said. "We went up there to race Del (Worsham) in the second round at St. Louis, and that race gave us a pretty good idea about where we stand. We were basically dead even, from reaction time to the finish line, but we lost and Del went on to win the race. We don't want to change the approach at all, we just need to find a little more in terms of speed and e.t., and then some of those laps might start to fall our way, one after another.
"We could've gone up there against Del and tried to make a big jump, maybe trying to pick up three or four hundredths thinking we needed to be heroes, but that probably wouldn't have worked. We just went up there to make our best lap, and it was a great race that just happened to go the other way. Now, if we just keep pecking away at it and pick up just a little, we could do some damage out here."
Wilkerson isn’t busy counting points. He knows the time points will count the most is when the tour rolls into Indianapolis for the annual NHRA U.S. Nationals. That’s the cutoff race for the Countdown to the Championship.
"Yeah, you really can't get too hung up on it right now," Wilkerson said. "You can drive yourself nuts, and probably get off your game a little, if you let the points deal eat you up. If we have a good weekend in Bristol, we'll probably move up a little higher, but if things don't go our way we'll probably fall back out of the Top 10. We still have 11 races to go, before the Countdown, so we have to approach the points exactly the same way we approach every lap. We'll just stay with the program, try to get better, and try not to pay attention to the other stuff. It will all sort itself out."
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