NHRA U.S. NATIONALS - BME TOP FUEL NOTEBOOK
Keep up with this weekend's Top Fuel action in Indianapolis by reading our behind-the-scenes event notebook. Tune in daily for the latest news from the pits. Tracy Renck and Stan Creekmore will tag team to bring you the stories behind the numbers.
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MONDAY NOTEBOOK - GARLITS NOT THE ONLY BIG DADDY IN INDY
DADDY TONY SCHUMACHER - History doesn’t have to wait any longer for Tony Schumacher.
The six-time world champion tied Don Garlits' record by winning his eighth US Nationals Top Fuel Dragster championship Monday in the 55th annual edition at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind.
Shumacher, who pilots the U.S. Army dragster for his father at Don Schumacher Racing, beat Larry Dixon in the Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing dragster in the finals.
Schumacher clocked a 3.861-second pass, while Dixon came in at 4.208 seconds.
“This is the big-go, this is Indy, and it’s not really like it used to be,” said Schumacher, who was in his eighth consecutive final round at Indy. “It’s use to be like two or three cars and someone was going to win it. This is tough. There were a lot of cars. You look at second round on and we all ran within a hundredth of a second of each other. Insane. This was fantastic for the fans, they get to see the greatest show on Earth and to get to come out victorious at the end is fantastic. I can’t believe what we’ve done. To have your name mentioned in the same sentence with Big Daddy Don Garlits at the US Nationals is truly awesome.”
This was Schumacher’s fourth win of the season in five final rounds and the 60th of his career. Schumacher made his debut in 1996. Schumacher’s Indy titles came in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Schumacher remains third in the points behind Antron Brown and Dixon. The Top 10 drivers after the US Nationals advance to the Countdown to 1, the six-race playoff, and their points will be reset for the playoffs in 10-point increments with the first-place drivers in all the Pro categories, receiving a 20-point bonus.
The first race of the Countdown is the NHRA Nationals in Charlotte Sept. 17-20.
Schumacher couldn’t picked a better opponent to face in the final round than Dixon. Dixon’s team is run by Alan Johnson, Schumacher’s old crew chief. Mike Green is now the wrench boss for Schumacher, whose DSR team had to be completely reconfigured with the departure of Johnson.
“I couldn’t asked for anybody else in the other lane in the finals,” Schumacher said. “The fans paid a lot of money to come see something like that and I would’ve paid twice as much to see it. Nobody’s going to go back and asked for a refund after that. I have a huge amount of respect for them (Johnson’s team), and they’re a great team. Those are my guys, we did so much together. To go against someone like that under the pressure and the circumstances we had, that’s the best. It’s what makes me wake up in the morning.”
Beyond all of Schumacher’s accomplishments, this was the Green’s first US Nationals win as a crew chief.
“I’ve won Indy as the assistant crew chief, but not as the crew chief,” Green said. “So, as a crew chief this is the biggest win in my career. I’m just a lucky guy to be able to work on this car sponsored by the U.S. Army and owned by Don Schumacher and driven by this guy (Tony). You give him any kind of car and he can win a race. This is just the start of what we want to finish and that’s win another championship for Tony.”
Tony praised Green.
“Mike Green deserves a lot of credit, no questions asked,” Schumacher said. “His tune-up went down the race track and it gives you the confidence go out there in the final round when you’re running a champion like Larry Dixon, who has my old team. To go out there and do what we do and win the race is because Mike has put me in the position that I have the confidence in the car.”
Another amazing performance also wasn’t lost on Don Schumacher.
“Tony’s the driver and the lucky guy who sits in the seat and he does one whale of a job,” the elder Schumacher said. “But, this is a credit to Mike Green and all the guys what they’ve done. This win is a really special one because of the car that was in the other lane. You can’t forget any of the other ones because there was always a special car in the other lane also. There is a little extra rivalry out there between the Army team and that other team, so this was a special one.”
THE BIG PICTURE - Clay Millican won the war Sunday when he clinched his first NHRA playoff position, but lost the battle Monday in the opening round of the U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park.
Millican’s Hope4Sudan/Motorvation Top Fuel dragster registered its quickest elapsed time of the weekend, 3.916 seconds at 311.27 mph, while his opponent, Larry Dixon, turned on the win light in 3.855 seconds at 313.66 mph
“Well, we ran better...but it just wasn’t quick enough,” said Millican. “Obviously, it was one of those happy-sad things. We’re sad because we didn’t win a round in the U.S. Nationals, but we were extremely happy to make the Countdown to 1.
Millican essentially through the book at the car Sunday night in hopes of going rounds in the U.S. Nationals. Now that he is in the Countdown to 1, the work won't stop.
“We made wholesale tune-up changes Sunday night and it showed lots of promise. We’re going to continue working on the car. We’ll definitely be ready when we get to Charlotte for the first Countdown race.”
Millican secured 10th place overall in the regular season when Joe Hartley, who was only three points behind, didn’t qualify Sunday.
Other stops on the Countdown schedule: Dallas, Memphis, Richmond, Va., Las Vegas and Pomona, Calif.
PART TIME WORKS JUST FINE - Being competitive in the NHRA’s Top Fuel dragster class is not easy.
The class is ruled by high-budget teams like Don Schumacher Racing and Alan Johnson’s Al-Anabi Racing.
Bill Miller, however, has taken on the daunting task of competing against the high-profile teams with his Top Fuel dragster operation. Miller is running a limited schedule with driver Troy Buff in the Bill Miller Engineering entry.
“The challenges are getting a good discount on the airline ticket early enough, so you get here and don’t spend your way into oblivion,” Miller said Sunday at the US Nationals. “The hotel bills and the motel bills, and the food, and everything else, that’s probably more challenging than anything else. You drag the car up here, just like everybody else does and you think that you have a good handle on what’s going on.”
Unfortunately, Miller’s dragster came up a little short in the US Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Buff’s quickest qualifying pass, 5.625-seconds, was 20th fastest, not enough to claim a spot in the 16-car field.
“The limited schedule presents a problem because what you have is one third the amount of runs,” Miller said, explaining the challenges his group faces. “I don’t care how talented you’re, if you don’t drag it up there and keep running it and keep running it, and keep running it and keep running it, you don’t learn anything. You can’t sit at home and pencil this thing out. You have to drag it up there and start it up. So, when you only run 35 to 40 percent of the time, you’re always behind.”
Miller’s team did have a breakout performance at the Northwest Nationals in Seattle on July 19. Buff made it to the semis, before losing to Tony Schumacher.
“The car ran very well at Seattle,” Miller said. “We’ve been working on the exhaust side of the engine for the last two months and it has helped out and is coming around. When you have a lot of money and you have a lot of time, you have a lot of personnel and you get to do lots of things 10 times faster than I do.”
Miller said he has no plans of running his Top Fuel dragster team full-time next year, frankly because it’s his show.
“It all comes out of my pocket,” said Miller, whose team is based out of Carson City, Nev. “So we get to do what Bill wants to do. I’m the car owner, crew chief and the sponsor, with the exception of Okuma, who I dearly love, but basically it’s all on our shoulders. I think we will run 15 to 16 races next season, the normal deal. I have a business to run, so I can’t be gone all of the time. We’re basically running at the convenience of where the races are and when they’re in the year. We have three full-time guys back at the shop work on the car and the top 10 teams have 10.”
Miller, who is a manufacturer of championship-winning engine components, has a simple reason for being involved in the NHRA’s Top Fuel class.
“It’s the mechanical challenge,” Miller said. “This is really the single most difficult thing that I’ve ever done without a doubt. These things are really hard to run, and when they’re wrong, they’re really wrong. That’s why you have big fires and stuff. There are cars that will break a component on the valve train, for example, and it will just limp on down there and you take it back to the pits and replace the broken rocker arm or whatever it is and go back to work. You break a rocker arm in one of these things (a Top Fuel dragster), it breaks the crankshaft, because it over boost everything. The blower says I don’t care, I’m still putting in the same amount of air, and now I have got one less cylinder, so the other cylinders get overboosted, and when they get over boosted they get lean and when they get lean, they start detonating and everything blows up.”
Like any team owner, Miller would love to win a world championship, but he admitted the biggest satisfaction that he gets is when his dragster makes a smooth run down the track at over 300-plus mph.
“You have passion for the sport when you’re 30,” Miller said. “When you’re 65, you don’t have any passion, you’re just here because you want to do it. I’ve been doing this since 1982. The passion has come and gone as far as the sport is concerned. It’s the mechanical challenge of figuring this thing out and making it run well without it spitting its guts on the ground. The pleasure I get is when you drag it back to the pits and it’s not all blown up. It’s all dry and clean and it ran well.”
ROASTED CONNIE - The ESPN2 censors editing Sunday evening's roast of drag racing legend Connie Kalitta will earn their money editing the footage. The event was staged under a special tent on the grounds of O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.
Before a packed house of friends, fellow drag racers and drag racing fans, Kalitta withstood the heat of a few friends chosen to tell a few of the not-so-flattering stories from his five decades of drag racing involvement. The proceeds of the event benefitted Racers for Christ.
NHRA announcer Bob Frey emceed the roast and Alan Reinhart served as the roving reporter making his way through the crowd gathering random Kalitta tales.
The panel of roasters included “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Jim Head and Chris “The Golden Greek” Karamesines as well as special guest roaster Frank “The Beard” Bradley.
Nobody cut Kalitta any slack, the least of which was Bradley.
“You need to sit there and shut the f%$# up,” Bradley said with a smile as he took the microphone. “When is the last time someone told you that? Your mother 70 years ago?”
One by one, starting with Garlits, then Head and Karamesines, the zingers flew like bullets from a machine gun. Then there was an employee testimony from Jim Oberhofer, as well as audience participation from Ed McCulloch. Kalitta’s lawyer, cited attorney-client privilege for the best stories, but still shared some memorable moments.
At the end of the evening, Kalitta took the podium not in his defense but in praise of his racing friends and family.
“This place is full of people, some that are very good friends,” Kalitta said, his voice cracking with emotion. “This is why I come racing. Being a part of racing and being with your peers, respecting them and they respect you, and that comes from the bottom of my heart. That’s why I am here.”
HOT ROD THE SPOILER - From 2006-2008, Hot Rod Fuller was a perennial Top Fuel dragster championship contender. He finished a career-best second in the point standings in 2007.
This season, he was left out of a full-time ride when David Powers Motorsports shut down.
Fuller, however, has competed in three races for team owner Bob Vandergriff. The latest being the Patton CAT dragster at the U.S. Nationals. Fuller qualified 10th with a 3.888-second time. Fuller met Doug Kalitta in the opening round, outlasting him with a 4.78-second lap to Kalitta’s 5.20. Fuller lost in the second round to Tony Schumacher.
“I saw him (Doug) go past me and then his blew the blower off,” Fuller said. “I didn’t see the win light come on, I just kept driving. It has been tough. This is only my third race of the year and these guys have been racing all year long, but the way I look at if you’re going to make any race of the year, this is the one to race. We have a race car that can win it. The last two races I’ve been to, I’ve had a fast car and this week, I’ve had a fast, consistent car. Today, I think we will let it loose and go get some rounds.”
Fuller knows a U.S. Nationals victory would be beneficial in many ways for his career right now.
“There’s no better way to get a sponsorship than winning the US Nationals,” Fuller said.
Prior to Indy, Fuller also ran at the stops in Chicago and Norwalk with Vandergriff.
“We’re trying to get CAT corporate back, but everybody knows what’s going on with the economy,” the 38-year-old Fuller said. “CAT has been one of the biggest ones to feel the crunch on it because it’s construction and building homes. They’re 100 percent behind me, it’s just a matter of the economy coming back. We’ve also been working on a bunch of other sponsors to try and get something new out here out to make sure I’m running a full schedule next year. Vandergriff Motorsports has done great things for me and give me the opportunity to keep on driving with all the best equipment. The way I look it, we’re dangerous. We’re hungry and we don’t have anything to lose. We’re not fighting for points.”
According to Fuller, it’s nearly been finalized that he will be driving for Vandergriff Motorsports at Charlotte Sept. 17-20, which is the next stop on the tour.
“We’re looking to go to Charlotte, it’s not 100 percent, but it’s about 95 percent,” Fuller said. “With that being the first race in the Countdown, that’s really going to be fun. In years past, I’ve been fighting for a championship and this year I kind of spoil a lot of peoples’ days.”
SNAKE’S TEAM STRIKES - The week has been turbulent, to say the least, for Top Fuel dragster driver Spencer Massey. Massey essentially was floored when Don Prudhomme announced the pending closure of the operation on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Massey kept his composure and qualified 16th on Sunday. He then came back and scored a huge upset of top qualifier Antron Brown on a hole shot in the first round of eliminations. Massey clocked a 3.881-second run at 310.27 mph, while Brown had a 3.872-second effort at 317.34 mph.
The difference for Massey, he cut a .051 light, compared to Brown's .073.
“We struggled this weekend and we had the turn of events with the blower belt happening Saturday night and then we struggled Sunday and barely got in the show,” Massey said. “Then, we had to race Antron Brown and they're leading the points and we had be on our ‘A’ game. The U.S. Smokeless car is going down the track. We’re here for the United Association folks, and for Jegs. And for Snake, ‘are you listening?’ We’re going rounds. We always have a car that can win. I feel that.”
Massey, a rookie and currently seventh in the points standings, has one win at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in June in Joliet, Ill. Massey will remain under contract with Don Prudhomme Racing through the 2010 season.
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -
YO BIG DADDY – Antron Brown was excited about claiming the top spot for the 55th Annual NRHA U.S. Nationals and the opportunity to 
claim his first U.S. Nationals victory.
“To win Indy is a big deal,” said Antron, but maybe not as big as a visit from “Big Daddy” Don Garlits as the team prepared to warm up the car for the final round of qualifying.
“Big Daddy got to warm my car up before that run,” said Brown. “That was something really special to me. When I grew up as a kid watching this sport, that was my hero. That moment goes beyond words for me.”
While Brown was being raised by his grandmother, a feisty woman who demanded the best from her grandson, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits was amassing eight U.S. National wins. Brown remembers watching Garlits run at the track around New Jersey, plotting to follow in the footsteps of his drag racing hero.
On Monday, Brown gets the chance to garner his first U.S. National win and if the conditions are right tomorrow and Brown thinks they will be, his 319 mile an hour pass from qualifying can be beat.
“It's going to be overcast and cloudy like today and we love those kinds of conditions, without a doubt.”
Brown will meet Spencer Massey in the first round.
“It's going to be tough out there tomorrow. My first round match up, we got Spencer Massey. You never think Spencer Massey would be on the bump. So, that first round match up is like a final round. We've got to go up there and put our best foot forward.”
RAIN DOESN'T RUIN THE DAY - Cory McClenathan and the FRAM Tough Guard Top Fuel dragster team were unable to improve today as temperatures continued to cool at Raceway Park at Indianapolis following a long rain delay, slipping from No. 2 to No. 6 in final qualifying for the U.S. Nationals.
McClenathan lost traction in his attempt, posting a 4.806-second lap at 148.15 mph, which dropped him to No. 6.
“I think, considering that the rain delay went on as long as it did, and it dropped a pretty decent amount of water, NHRA did a great job of getting it cleaned up so the fans could at least enjoy one round of good racing," said McClenathan. "But, for the FRAM Tough Guard car, we saw those stellar numbers come up on the board and we knew we really needed to push it.
"We knew it was going to be an all-or-nothing type of deal and it was kind of like, 'we need to push this car and see what its possibilities are and then back it up a little bit.' Now, we can go race it tomorrow with all the confidence in the world. We’ll have lane choice, and that’s a good thing.
"We kind of feel like we got our pocket picked a little bit, to go out there in second and come back in sixth. It's a little bit tough to take but, you know what, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who we race. We’re going to race everybody just like we would our own teammate, and Tony (Schumacher) ran well. He ran 3.83 (for second place), so we’ll be able to take some data off his car and utilize it tomorrow.
"Monday is a whole other day, and it is Indy, so anything can happen.”
McClenathan will face David Grubnic in the opening round of Monday's eliminations.
COUNTDOWN TO A RECORD - “It’s time to put our game faces on,” said the six-time world champion, Tony Schumacher. “We’re going to go get a good night’s sleep and be ready to roll come tomorrow.”
On Labor Day, Schumacher will be seeking a record-tying eighth U.S. Nationals Top Fuel victory. Don Garlits presently sits atop the class leader board.
“We’d love to be the last one standing tomorrow afternoon,” he added. “We’re certainly aware of possibly matching Garlits’ record. We definitely have a good enough car to get the job done.”
After struggling in the opening two rounds of qualifying, Schumacher’s U.S. Army car clearly found a second wind in the final two rounds (the fifth round was cancelled due to weather delays).
During Sunday afternoon’s run, Schumacher stopped the clock at 3.836-seconds which was only one-thousandth of a second slower than pole sitter Antron Brown.
“We were that close to being number one,” said the Chicago-area resident. “The bottom line is the car is performing quite well right now.”
DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY - Qualified ninth and looking forward to an upcoming nighttime run, Spencer Massey literally had the rug
THE MORGAN LUCAS INDY DIARY
Our day was great other than waiting around in the rain.That’s something I hate for the fans but you can’t do much about that. We also ended up with a few oildowns but this is Indy and everybody is gunning for the title. It just goes to show you how important this race is.
We went out there and didn’t want to smoke the tires and beat ourselves.
We improved a little bit but not a whole lot.
With Geico on board it just seems like we have had so much good fortune. It has made such a difference. It’s nice to see my dad walking around the track smiling. That’s big because he has a lot on his plate.
The guy has so much going on in his life from watching over the prices of oil to cattle prices. He’s just all over the place. It’s just nice to see him out here enjoying time with the family. I’m glad we are giving him a better show this year.
Our car is running well and Shawn had a good car, too. Hopefully we can help him to win a few rookie of the year votes.
It’s good that we are running for the championship with a nice head of steam.
pulled from under his feet when Don Prudhomme announced the pending closure of his U.S. Tobacco Top Fuel dragster operation.
“We were informed about the same time as everybody else,” the 26-year-old Massey said. “Snake is very loyal and very honest about everything that he does. There could’ve been a situation where he didn’t have to tell us about it, where he could’ve just hoped that something would have come along. He’s a stand up guy and did the right thing by telling us, so we’re all in the same boat and know what’s happening here.”
Massey’s weekend continued into Monday, thanks to his 3.972-second pass on Sunday, which qualified him in the No. 16 spot. Massey faces top qualifier Antron Brown at 11 a.m. Monday in the first-round of eliminations.
“That was a saving run for us,” Massey said. “We got down the track and now hopefully we can put on a good show Monday.”
Massey, a rookie and currently seventh in the points standings, has one win at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in June in Joliet, Ill. Massey will remain under contract with Don Prudhomme Racing through the 2010 season.
Massey immediately tried to put a positive spin on the situation, “Obviously, things happen for a reason and maybe this turns out to be a better situation for next year. As of right now, nothing is happening and we’re trying to look, but like I said, things might happen for a reason, maybe for a better reason for something else.”
Although the future of Don Prudhomme Racing, is in limbo, Massey isn’t stressing over his own contract.
“I’m not sure (having someone buy out my contract) is something that we will have to worry about past the end of the year or whatever,” Massey said. “That’s something we haven’t talked about. We’re just dealing with this weekend right now and trying to win a race.”
Now is not the time to be thinking about sponsors and contracts. Massey is concentrating on taking home the Wally on Monday evening.
“There’s never really a good time for this,” Massey said. “It’s not effecting the way that I’m going to work and how I’m going to drive. When I strap that helmet on it doesn’t matter. I don’t know the difference. Things will turn out OK. I’m the kind of guy who thinks the glass is half full, not half empty.
“I’m very grateful for everything that I have got,” Massey said. “If everything washes up and goes away at the end of the year, I still got to drive a Top Fuel car for Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. I couldn’t have had a better opportunity and I ‘m very happy for him to have me over here driving the car. If nothing comes about, it would be sad, but I’m living my dream right now and that’s all I care about.
“Of course I want to drive a Top Fuel dragster next year, and if I can’t, I could always go back to driving an alcohol dragster or working on cars. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. It’s what it is. I’m out here having a good time and I enjoy myself.”
FINAL SPOT CLINCHED - Clay Millican qualified and Joe Hartley didn't thus ending the battle for the final available position in the Countdown playoffs on Sunday afternoon.
Millican, behind the wheel of the Lifelock dragster, landed in the 13th position while Hartley's 4.025 was only good enough for the 18th spot. Only the top 16 qualifiers advance into the elimination.
“I was relieved . . .” Millican said when he realized Hartley was out of contention. “I don’t believe in pressure, but I do believe in finishing in the top 10 and so it was nice to know no matter what our run was, we were going to be in the top 10.
“That’s a huge accomplishment. No matter what happens here, we have finished in the top 10 for the first time in my drag racing career in NHRA. We certainly aren’t planning that’ll be where we end up, but it’s nice to know we are in the top 10 and we can now get ourselves in position to go for this championship.”
NOTHING TO LOOSE: When T.J. Zizzo chose not to run against Tony Schumacher in the first round of Top Fuel dragster eliminations, because of engine problems, it gave Schumacher’s crew chief Mike Green a chance to roll the dice.
And, what Green did worked as, Schumacher ran 3.816 seconds, which was the low elapsed time of the round, beating Morgan Lucas’ 3.829-second effort.
“Mike Green made adjustments to the tune-up, we were going for it,” said Schumacher following his impressive run. “You smoke the tires, so what.”
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -
REALLY, "THE FINAL STRIKE" - This is something that no one saw coming.
On Saturday afternoon, Don Prudhomme Racing, Inc. announced that his Top Fuel dragster team is for sale and that he will begin accepting offers immediately, according to its president Don Prudhomme. Prudhomme’s dragster is sponsored by U.S. Smokeless.
Prudhomme’s team will begin to field inquiries from parties interested in purchasing or investing in the team, with any potential sale to be finalized upon the completion of the 2009 NHRA season. In the event that an investor or sale is not complete by the end of the calendar year, the Snake Racing Top Fuel dragster team will not compete in 2010.
Rookie Spencer Massey is driving Prudhomme’s dragster. Massey is seventh in the points standings, and has one win at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in June in Joliet, Ill. Massey will remain under contract to Prudhomme.
Moments after Prudhomme started his press conference he received an ironic call on his cell phone from Gary Darcy, NHRA’s director of marketing.
“It’s Gary Darcy,” said Prudhomme to the audience. “I’m in the press room, come on in. Come on over, all right. I’m making an announcement.”
Following a short pause in his conversation with Darcy, Snake said, “Jesus Christ.” Then Snake said, “You’re a little late buddy. Later.”
After his conversation with Darcy, Snake said the following: “What the hell is he going to do anyhow? “Shit, they can’t find a sponsor himself.”
Following his short phone conversation/rant, Prudhomme addressed his team’s plight.
“I haven’t been thinking about this (making this announcement), not at all,” Prudhomme said. “As you all know we’ve been with U.S. Smokeless for 20 years or so, and had a fine relationship. The company was taken over by Phillip Morris some months back, as you all know, they’re very involved with Penske and so on and we pretty much had plans to carry on and we had the go-ahead pretty much. I don’t want to get into all the details and all kind of legal angles and everything, but they notified us that they were not going to do it (sponsor the team). They were very generous, I must say, in the way they handled it. It just happened here the other day. If any of you read the papers, Obama and some of things they’ve signed with the FDA and all that, and the tobacco laws, it really put a real crimp on what we were doing out here and I suspect that’s is the case in all forms of motorsports.”
Prudhomme admitted that he was blind-sided by U.S. Smokeless’ decision.
“It kind of caught us off-guard to say the least,” Prudhomme said. “We thought it was best to tell everybody that there’s a possibility that we may not be out here (in 2010). The ideal thing would be for us to be able to bring a sponsor or an investor into the team, because it’s so expensive to do now. Most companies have a hard time keeping up with it, because the economy is so rough. With this late of a start, and finding all this out, this is going to be a difficult chore, but we’re going to work on it.”
Prudhomme, who has owned and operated professional race teams for 47 seasons, also was realistic about his situation.
“There’s a possibility that we will not be back next year,” Prudhomme said. “I had one year, that I didn’t have a sponsor and I didn’t race the car. In saying that, we just parked the car, and didn’t run. That’s what I’m planning on doing this time. I’m not going to come out here and run and use up every dime I have to do this. You just can’t do it.”
Actually, Prudhomme was in the preliminary stages of expanding his team before all this happened.
“We were talking to some sponsors about another car even, and we were putting together a deal because this car was secure,” Prudhomme said. “Then, they just dropped this bomb on us. It’s like your boss walking into work one day and saying ‘guess what, your fired.’ That’s how it went with us, exactly the same way. There’s possibility that this might be my last US Nationals. I hate to see that, but in this economy it’s pretty rough out there right now. A lot of these cars, a lot of the guys that own them, put a lot of their own cash into them, with some sponsor dough, and we don’t have that. We have to run with sponsor money. We’re going to run out the rest of the year, and obviously, we’re still in the chase, and we’re funded to do all that. Right after that, we would pull the plug on the operation for sure and give everybody a chance to get a job and do some other things.”
The circumstances at hand, did cause Snake to reflect on his own career.
“I’m sure not too many people feel sorry for me, but I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve been really blessed and fortune and to have had sponsors for 47 odd years. So, I’m ahead of the game, but at the same time, I don’t want to piss away everything I’ve made and put it back into the car and run the car for nothing. If we don’t get a sponsor by next year, I would doubt it very much that we would come back. I haven’t thought that far down the road yet. Things would have to look very promising to carry things on as far as Jan. 1. It has happened before with us, so it’s not like it can’t happen. I just didn’t want to keep this in my gut for my team and everybody else, that we were just fine, because we’re not fine. The sport is an expensive thing to do out here, and I didn’t see it getting any cheaper.”
DIXON SETS THE PACE AGAIN - Larry Dixon isn’t prophetic and he was glad about that Saturday night.
Dixon, the driver of the Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Top Fuel dragster, had his 3.850-second run on Friday hold up and stay atop the qualifying ladder.
“I kind of have egg on my face because I said that 3.85 wasn’t going to hold up,” Dixon said. “I really thought it would take an 80 or 81 or something like that to stay on the pole. There were a lot of 85s and our 85 from Friday night was on the right side of them. I feel fortunate about that. Now, it is kind of about Saturday running during the day in race-day type conditions and really try to work on our set-up.”
Dixon is leading qualifying barely over several drivers. Cory McClenathan (3.851), Antron Brown (3.852), Tony Schumacher (3.855) and Morgan Lucas (3.859) are all right on Dixon’s heels.
“If I knew what the difference in the conditions were that made my 85 hold up I would be a crew chief,” Dixon said. “Alan and Jason (McCulloch) they had the car set-up to try and run a low 80, and I’m sure that there were a lot of guys out there trying to run a low 80 and for one reason or another, the numbers just didn’t come up.”
Pro qualifying session are at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Finals eliminations are at 11 a.m. Monday.
BERNSTEIN SCHEDULES ANNOUNCEMENT - Kenny Bernstein, the owner of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, has scheduled an announcement at 12:15 p.m. Sunday. The announcement is taking place at the Bernstein Bud/Lucas Oil pitside hospitality area.
Budweiser, which has been Bernstein’s primary sponsor for 30 years, announced earlier this year they were ending their primary sponsorship of the Bernstein dragster, driven by his son, Brandon.
THE MORGAN LUCAS INDY DIARY
Today was great. We went down the track two out of the two possible attempts and think of the few cars that did that. The credit has to go to the NHRA, they gave us a really good race track today. That's always nice when you can go out there and rely on that and set the car up the way you think it should be and it works. My crew has done a great job. We ran tonight and I went up there and tried to move my foot on the pedal trying to find a little bit better spot and kind of get back on my rythym. I almost squeezed the throttle and then I caught it. That was the screw up deal on the second run but we made it work. That's just drag racing. Sometimes you get lucky. All I can say is that we didn't qualify this race and since then we've been number 1 qualifier and we've won 2 races, we've won the championship race. We've made a lot of progress in this time. It just seems like every day there is some reason to be more excited about it. It's fun because I've got to the point where I lose and understand that that's just a part of it. You have to be able to be a good loser.
You have to understand that I'm living a dream and you get to drive a race car for a living. It's just like when people say that a bad day of golf still beats a day at work, it's the same thing. There's no such a thing as a really bad day- unless somebody dies, there's no such thing as a bad day of drag racing. I think that we're all fortunate to have this opportunity and I'm just looking forward to racing on Monday now. I wish Sunday didn't have to happen. A day for God and we just need to leave it that way.
RETURNING TO ACTION - Pat Dakin, who competed in his first US Nationals in 1972, was back this weekend trying to qualify for the event. Dakin struggled in qualifying, making a 7.479-second run Friday. Then, he blew the motor right off the line in Saturday’s first qualifying session. Dakin’s run, which came in the right lane, resulted in a 45-minute delay as the NHRA safety safari cleaned up the track.
Dave Grubnic and Ron August made the first qualifying runs after the oil down. Grubnic slowed to a 7.177-second run in the right lane, while August clocked a 4.764-second effort.
Tony Schumacher smoked the tires in the right lane. Spencer Massey, driving Don Prudhomme’s U.S. Smokeless dragster, had the best time of the session in the right lane, going 3.942 seconds.
WILL HUNTING AT INDY - Like many top-flight Top Fuel dragster drivers, Hillary Will was left without a ride for 2009 as a result of the economic downturn.
The 29-year-old Will is at the U.S. Nationals this weekend, keeping her name in drag racing.
“I’m enjoying racing,” Will said. “I love to be out here. I’m a fan. I’m a teammate and I’m here supporting all my teammates and racers and having a good time.”
Will finished fourth last year in the points, winning the Topeka (Kan.) race, driving for Ken Black.
“I’m going to be announcing something soon,” Will said. “I can’t wait to be in a car. I need to go down the track. I haven’t been in anything all year and I’m just dying to be in something. I want to go down the track. I want to win. I want to go fast.”
Will wouldn’t say what the exact announcement would be, but she did say the announcement would about driving this season, but it wouldn’t be in a Top Fuel dragster.
“This deal just came together and it’s awesome,” Will said. “I’m so excited about it. I need to drive and get some practice. I need to work on my reaction times and driving the car. I’m kind of floating off the ground right now because I’m so excited that I can drive.”
No matter Will gets behind the wheel next, her passion is to be driving a Top Fuel dragster.
“Top Fuel is my goal,” Will said. “I love Top Fuel and that’s where I want to be.”
Being out of drag racing this season, has given Will new perspective on the sport.
“I’m learning a lot this year about how to market myself,” Will said. “I’m building relationships with companies so that I can have multiple sponsors and it can be a long-term deal. This is really good for me, for the longevity of my career, to learn how to do this. I had an awesome deal with Ken (Black) funding the car and I got spoiled. Now, I’m learning how to get a sponsor.”
Will has an economics degree from Wheaton (Mass.) College, but she’s still determined to make drag racing her livelihood.
“I worked as a financial analyst for two years and I raced at the same and I didn’t like it (being an analyst) at all,” Will said. “I only did that because it supported my racing, Top Alcohol at the time. I hope that I never have to do that again. That would be the very last resort. It’s just not for me.”
CHASSIS PAYING OFF - Don Schumacher Racing’s experiment building new dragsters in-house is showing great promise. DSR’s in-house dragster, driven by Cory McClenathan, made its debut in the 55th annual US Nationals Friday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park.
McClenathan clocked a 3.863-second qualifying pass at 305.36 mph, which left him second fastest after the first round of qualifying. Larry Dixon had the top time at 3.850 seconds.
“We’re really happy with that,” McClenathan said, the day after the run.. “We shut the car off at 970 feet, right before 1,000 feet because by then you know you got all your E.T. basically and mph is the only thing you’re kind of lacking at that point. There were trouble spots in the left-hand lane from previous oil downs last night. We’re very happy, the numbers were fantastic and we know that it was safe everywhere. We brought it back and looked at it really good and it looked fantastic. We saw early numbers that are better than anything we’ve seen before with the other car. I would say it’s a home run.”
McClenathan’s performance has expedited a change of plans for teammate Tony Schumacher.
“We have another one (car) on the jig that we we’re building and that was going to be my back-up car, and we’ve already decided to put that one in service for Tony,” McClenathan said. “Tony will have that car, probably by Charlotte, the next race. Then, we will start building back up-cars for both of us.”
The NHRA Nationals are Sept. 17-20 in Charlotte. The top 10 drivers in each of the pro categories, after the US Nationals, advance to the Countdown to 1, the six-race playoff. Their points will be reset for the playoffs in 10-point increments with the first-place driver(s) receiving a 20 point bonus.
“We were very happy with it (the DSR dragster) and as a matter of fact, we have the second one in the jig right now,” confirmed Lee Beard, team manager at Don Schumacher Racing. “We hope to have it finished right away and have Tony in one before the season is over. I don’t know the exact race, but after the way that thing ran during the test here (at Indy) and (Friday night), Don (Schumacher) would like to get it out there as soon as possible, so I’m sure we’re going to go full-speed ahead on it.”
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -
DIXON SETS THE PACE - Larry Dixon saved the best run of the night for last.
Dixon, the driver of the Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Top Fuel dragster, made a 3.850-second run at 302.89 mph Friday night to capture the top qualifying spot. Dixon’s run came moments after Cory McClenathan’s 3.863-elapsed time. Pro qualifying continues at noon and 5:45 p.m., on Saturday.
“It’s obviously nice to be able to get your car down the track, and know you got your car in the top 12,” said Dixon, who has won five races this season. “Now, you can go into Saturday at the back of the session and see what some of the cars are doing and just try and make a run accordingly.”
Hot Rod Fuller, who is driving for Bob Vandergriff at Indy, is qualified third at 3.888 seconds. Antron Brown and Brandon Bernstein came in at 3.912 and 3.919 seconds, respectively.
Dixon made his run with team owner Khalid Al-Thani watching the action from the starting line.
“I had not got past performing under the pressure of Alan Johnson, to get to Khalid,” Dixon said. “I think Khalid is a lot easier to please than Alan.”
Despite his top run, Dixon knows his team can’t rest on that time.
“I don’t believe that time will hold for the pole, and I think (Saturday night) will be the run for the pole,” Dixon said.
Dixon recorded his time in the left lane, the same lane that Luigi Novelli oiled down, resulting in a 45-minute delay to clean up the track.
THE MORGAN LUCAS INDY DIARY
Friday’s run was a pretty exciting. It might make it onto the photo galleries with that one.It was really exciting. We’re still trying to get the car completely worked out.
We really want to approach the championship like it’s fun but this is Indy and it’s home and the business side of this is dealing with the fans and dealing with the people which I love to do, but driving a race car is the fun part. When you get a fun run like that you always come back and your heart is racing, you just want to go up there and do it again.
The bottom line is that it is nice to race in front of our hometown fans. I would really, really like to win in front of them. This is just one run on the first day and we have more runs tomorrow in similar conditions to what we had today.
Our car ran really well in the heat.
This has been one helluva month. A lot of stuff going on with the win. It’s nice because Geico has made it known that they are happy. We ended up on the front page of the latest issue of DRAG RACER magazine. There’s been lot’s of big stuff going on.
I can’t complain about one crappy run. It was just one run.
My light was good. The car was trying to run good. After that oildown, I don’t think the track was as good as it could have been outside of the groove and when it carried the front-end it just poked out, we kicked the tire off, just a bummer.
BERNSTEIN SPONSOR UPDATE - Standing in the staging lanes Friday evening, Kenny Bernstein stated that he is close to signing a primary sponsor for 2010. He is working to complete the deal and hopes to be able to make an announcement this weekend.
ASHLEY PUTS SECOND TOP FUELER ON HOLD - Matco Tools Top Fuel team owner Mike Ashley announced earlier in the season that he planned to run a second car as a compliment to the current point leading dragster he owns and is driven by Antron Brown. Unforseen delays have now convinced Ashley to scrap the idea of racing a limited schedule this season.
"Our second car was supposed to be done before the Indy test session, but we couldn’t get the car finished in time," Ashley said in a prepared statement to CompetitionPlus.com. "At this point, we don’t want to jeopardize the team and its focus on winning the championship during the Countdown (to the championship)."
A FLURRY OF NEW RECORDS ON THE HORIZON - Informed that the NHRA is about to announce they were going to begin honoring 1000 foot records in Funny Car and Top Fuel racing, Larry Dixon, top qualifier in the first round of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, pondered his thoughts for a few moments.
“It sounds to me like they are coming to terms with 1000 foot,” said Dixon. “I'm nostalgic about quarter mile. But, they are looking out for the best interest of the sport. The best interest of me and I rely on them to take care of us. If we get points now for running well in qualifying and points for 1000 foot records that will definitely put a spin on things. You'll probably see the national record reset two, three, four, five, maybe six times in six races.
“That's a lot of points. More than a race,” calculated Dixon.
THIS ONE IS OURS - The plan has followed its course.
Back at the Mile-High Nationals in Denver, in July, Lee Beard, team manager at Don Schumacher Racing, said that DSR was building a new dragster chassis in-house with the blessing of noted chassis builder Brad Hadman.
DSR’s in-house dragster is making its debut in the 55th annual U.S. Nationals this weekend and being driven by Cory McClenathan.
“I’m excited about it,” said McClenathan, who pilots the Fram Tough Guard entry. “The guys back at the fab shop and all the crew chiefs, they designed this Top Fuel car to work better in certain areas of the track than what it had in the past. I’m a huge Brad Hadman supporter. He has built everything I have driven for years. As the economy has taken a setback, and the way we’re scheduled and set now, it only makes sense that we do as much in-house as we can at DSR. Don took it upon himself to say ‘let’s build one, and let’s build it the way we want it.’”
DSR has built their Funny Cars in-house for at least two seasons.
“Obviously, Don trust me to say this (the new dragster) is a good piece,” McClenathan said. “I was able to put all the controls and pieces where I wanted them and we’ve gone and done very well with it. We’ve only made six runs on it, and I still think that they (DSR fabricators and crew chiefs) have done a lot of good things. They were able to take the tune-up right from the Hadman car we were running and put it right in the DSR car. It’s has done everything we wanted it to. I’m excited to see what it does in the long-term. It was a collective decision between the crew chiefs and everybody and myself to bring the car out at Indy. If we’re going to grasp for anything extra to utilize in the Countdown, this might be it.”
McClenathan made a 3.863-second pass at 305.36-mph during Friday night’s qualifying.
The top 10 drivers after the U.S. Nationals advance to the Countdown to 1, the six-race playoff to decide the champion. Their points will be reset for the playoffs in 10-point increments with the first-place driver(s) receiving a 20-point bonus.
McClenathan, whose third in the points chase, said the plan to use the DSR dragster beyond Indy is based on its performance this weekend.
“As long as it runs good, we’re going to use it,” McClenathan said. “This is a trial and error deal, drag racing is just that way. If you have a new piece, whether it’s a whole frame or a blower, if it doesn’t work, you’re going to go back to what you know works. We have old faithful sitting upstairs, and it has been a good car all year for us and if it ends up having to come back out, then so be it. But, I guarantee you that we will make whatever changes we need to make to the DSR car and we will run it again and get it right. We’re not the type of team that gives up on anything very easily.”
OIL SLICK - During Friday night’s Top Fuel dragster qualifying, Lugi Novelli’s dragster blew its motor and sent oil all over the track. It took NHRA officials 45 minutes to clean up the track and resume qualifying.
MASSEY’S MEMORABLE INDY - No matter what Spencer Massey does the rest of his drag racing career, he will always remember this 
weekend.
The 26-year-old is making his inaugural appearance driving a Top Fuel dragster in the U.S. Nationals.
“It’s an honor to get to race a Top Fuel car at any race, but to be here at the U.S. Nationals with the Snake (Don Prudhomme), it definitely means a lot. We have a chance to go rounds and win the race. We feel very confident coming off our test last week (Wednesday) here at this race track. This race couldn’t be any bigger. This is what everybody dreams of coming here to the U.S. Nationals and leaving here with a Wally. I couldn’t be any happier to try and get it done with the Snake and I’m living a dream doing it.”
Massey competed at the U.S. Nationals the last three years in a Top Alcohol dragster, reaching the semifinals twice.
This year, while driving Prudhomme’s U.S. Smokeless dragster, he’s had a solid season. Massey is seventh in the points standings, and has one win in June, the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK -
ON THE CUSP OF HISTORY – Tony Schumacher will head for ORP looking to tie the legendary Don Garlits for the most Top Fuel U.S. 
Nationals victories – eight. A nine-time U.S. Nationals finalist, he has captured the last three Indy events.
“I can’t wait to get down to Indy,” said the six-time world champion. “With the kind of success we’ve had there over the years, we’re quite anxious to get started.”
“Indy has truly been unbelievable for us,” he added. “Of course, we want to keep adding more wins. You can never get enough of those U.S. Nationals trophies.”
While he’s excited about competing in another U.S. Nationals, Schumacher is not losing sight of the fact there’s still a world title hunt in progress.
“Winning in Indy would definitely allow us to go into the playoffs on a high note,” said Schumacher. “We want to go to Charlotte in a couple of weeks firing on all cylinders. Our goal is the same as it has been from day one – to win another world championship for our Army Strong Soldiers. We’ll settle for nothing less.”
Presently, Schumacher holds third-place in the standings and is 54 points removed from Larry Dixon in second. If he should get around Dixon in Indy, it would mean he’d start the playoffs 30 points behind the leader, Antron Brown, instead of 40 points behind.
“You might think 10 points does not make much of a difference, but it’s the difference between being two full rounds of racing behind instead of less than two rounds of racing behind,” he said. “Plain and simple, we want to be as close to Antron as we can be when the game begins for real.”
LOOKING FOR HIS FIRST – Antron Brown is a two-time winner of the storied Indianapolis NHRA race. The 16-time Pro Stock Motorcycle 
winner scored two wins aboard his Suzuki at O'Reilly Raceway Park, including the 50th anniversary U.S. Nationals in 2004.
Now he’s ready for his first Top Fuel Indy crown.
"It would be a huge deal if we can do well in this race and put this Matco Tools dragster in the win column in Top Fuel at the U.S. Nationals. I've done it a few times on the bikes, but to do it in Top Fuel would be the icing on the cake on a great season for our MAR Matco Tools team. Our car is running great, so our team has a lot of confidence heading into the U.S. Nationals with Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) calling the shots for our Matco team. We're ready to rock and roll at ORP (O'Reilly Raceway Park)."
Brown's first U.S. Nationals triumph came in his third try at O.R.P. when he bested John Smith 7.268 to 7.354. Four years later, Brown took home the gold "Wally" trophy by edging Shawn Gann 7.213 to 7.238. In 11 U.S. Nationals appearances, Brown has qualified in the top half of the field nine times and has an average qualifying position of 5.64.
His average qualifying position this season is 3.59 and he has qualified in the top half of the 16-car order at 16 of 17 events (Seattle).
If there’s ever a year that Brown is qualified, it’s this season. He has not ranked lower than second this season and has been atop the standings following 12 of 17 races, including the last eight events. The 23-time winner is the only Top Fuel driver to not have lost in the opening round of eliminations this season.
RANKING THE PRIORITIES – Morgan Lucas is in his fifth year of racing Top Fuel. Since Day One, winning the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis has become a priority.
"This race means so much to drag racers," Lucas said. "It's certainly one you want to win at some point in your career. Living here, it takes on even more significance because all your friends and family are here wishing you well. You want to show everyone a good time and there's nothing better than a winner's circle party.
"The two wins we've had this year have been special. Atlanta was cool because it was our first in Top Fuel. Then we go to Brainerd and just out-perform everyone. There were no lucky breaks, red lights, people smoking their tires or blowing up, we just had the best car that day. It was a dream weekend with mom and dad there and being a Lucas Oil race. I don't know if I'll ever be able to top that.
"But winning Indy, well, that just might beat it all."
HEY ARE YOU RELATED? - Although he downplays the significance of his family name, especially in the Hoosier State, Morgan Lucas knows all eyes will be on his two-car team over the course of the weekend.
"Since my folks signed on as sponsors on the Colts stadium in downtown it's really raised the profile of our company, especially in Indianapolis," Lucas said. "When you meet people and tell them your name the immediate question is, 'Are you related to the people that have the football stadium?' It's like, 'yeah, that's mom and dad.' My parents are socialites here now. It's pretty funny.
"Indy is always a hectic weekend for us and after the stadium deal went through it just exploded. There are more demands on my time than usual and you kind of just have to put your head down and plow through it all. It makes for a crazy weekend."
HANGING BY A THREAD - One race and three points separate Clay Millican from joining a select group of NHRA Top Fuel drivers in the 
final six races that will determine the 2009 Full Throttle Series championship.
Joe Hartley is 11th, three points behind Millican, has the same aspirations. The survivor after Monday’s eliminator will win the battle for the final spot.
“The race is a marathon, that’s the way I look at Indy,” said Millican, who has been in the 10th spot for the last eight events. “This is the longest race of the year and the biggest race of the year. I’m just ready to get there and get with it. Everybody’s talking about the top 10, which is good. I’m glad we are getting that attention and I’m hoping we can turn that into a race win.
“We’ve waited all these years to win one, so why not win the big one? If we can do that, the points take care of themselves and we’re in.”
The team’s primary objectives include Millican securing his first NHRA national event victory and finishing in the top 10 for the first time. This is his second full season on the Full Throttle tour.
As for any additional pressure, Millican says he won’t feel it at Indianapolis. “I don’t believe anything externally can put pressure on you,” he commented. “Do I get butterflies? Do I get nervous? Yes. That’s usually before the first qualifying run and then before first round of eliminations. It’s one of those feelings you love to hate. It gets down to what I’ve done a lot of times before . . . just do my job and let it happen.”
The two drivers only went head-to-head twice this year, Hartley winning in Houston and Millican taking the win light in Topeka.
Both teams tested last week at ORP to fine-tune their efforts.
Crew chief Lance Larsen noted the car went down the track “on three of our six runs, we made progress in the tune-up areas, we had the low e.t. in two of the sessions, and we got down a nasty race track a couple of times. We want to run our best pass each time we go down the track. It’s up to us to do a good job.”
Their best time 1,000-foot time of 3.886 seconds wound up sixth overall.
Millican added that test laps also help the driver. “That was fun. I always like testing. There’s no winner or loser. You are out there to make yourself better. It’s an opportunity to look at the Christmas tree, step on the gas and let the car tell you what it wants and react to the car and be a test pilot.
“The majority of the hitters were there so we are at least on even par with them as far as track information goes. That will be of some benefit. It never hurts to have six runs down the race track you’re fixing to go race on, either.
“We really couldn’t afford to go testing but, at the same time, we feel we had no choice,” Millican concluded. “We have to try and stay in the top 10 . . . and obviously Joe Hartley felt the same way because they were there testing, too.
“It’s pretty much letting it all hang out starting Friday night and going for that spot.”
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