A division-by-division look at the NHRA’s top classes headed into the U.S. Nationals:

TOP FUEL

So far: Five-time world champion Tony Schumacher has dominated the Top Fuel class. He has led the Powerade Drag Racing Series standings from the start of the season and has 10 wins in 12 final-round showings through 17 national events. He has won five races in a row on this year’s schedule and six of the last eight U.S. Nationals. Class rookie Antron Brown, who made the unusual move to Top Fuel from Pro Stock Motorcycle, is the only other driver to win multiple events this season, and he has two victories.

U.S. Nationals outlook: Schumacher can’t win them all, though, and it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see Brown, Larry Dixon, Cory McClenathan or Rod Fuller in the winner’s circle come Monday night. Brown is killer at the starting line, Dixon won the other two Indy races in this millennium and McClenathan is a teammate of Schumacher and has been coming on strong.

Countdown outlook: The biggest excitement left in filling the Countdown to 1 fields takes place in Top Fuel as Dave Grubnic, Doug Kalitta and Morgan Lucas will be battling for the final two playoff spots. The trio are so close it will literally come down to which two go the furthest on race day. Grubnic was the last driver bumped out in 2007. For unknown reasons, Kalitta is having his worst year as a professional. Lucas recently hired tuner Jimmy Walsh and has shown marginal improvement in the last two races.

FUNNY CAR

So far: Old school fans have reveled in the success of Tim Wilkerson, who has led the Funny Car standings for the last 11 races. “Wilk” is a throwback who owns and tunes his car, and he runs as an independent, so he doesn’t have anyone to share data with at the races. Still, he’s tied with reigning champion Tony Pedregon at the top of the standings with four wins and will enter the playoffs, which he missed last year, as the points leader. Jack Beckman and Robert Hight, with two victories apiece, are the only other multiple-event winners this year.

U.S. Nationals outlook: Mike Ashley took an emotional U.S. Nationals victory last year, but he retired earlier this season. Two-time champion Frank Hawley came out of retirement to take his place and drove to the final in Mohnton, Pa., two weeks ago. Considering their success this year, Wilkerson and Pedregon have a slight edge this weekend. But the Team Force juggernaut — 14-time champion John Force; his rookie of the year daughter, Ashley; former Indy winner Hight; and Mike Neff — has a knack for rising to the occasion. You can’t overlook Cruz Pedregon, Gary Densham or Ron Capps, either.

Countdown outlook: The Funny Car field is set, so there won’t be much drama this weekend. It’s all about momentum heading into the six-race sprint to the finish. Wilkerson will see a 123-point lead reduced to 30 when the NHRA reshuffles the points, but his ability to go rounds every race should continue to pay dividends. Everyone’s waiting for John Force to get hot, which could happen at any time, and his son-in-law Hight is an elite driver in a great race car.

PRO STOCK

So far: With eight winners in the first nine races, it appeared parity had returned to Pro Stock. Then three-time champion Greg Anderson reeled off three wins in a row in his Pontiac and started to look unbeatable, only to take a few missteps of late. Perennial championship runner-up Kurt Johnson (three wins), reigning champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. (two) and Anderson’s teammate Jason Line (two) also have led the standings this season. Then there’s Dave Connolly (two wins), who missed the first five races of the year with sponsor issues only to return with backing from Charter Communications and LifeLock to earn more points than anyone else in the class since.

U.S. Nationals outlook: Connolly is the defending race champion and has been to the last three finals in a row heading into this event. He’s the hottest driver in the class at the moment. Anderson was denied a record fifth consecutive Indy title by Connolly last year but certainly has the pedigree to start another streak. Including his sportsman heroics, racer Coughlin has four Indy wins. Six-time Indy champion Warren Johnson is fighting for the last playoff spot.

Countdown outlook: Last year, Anderson gave up a 172-point lead at the start of the Countdown, and it cost him his fourth title. This year, he leads by 37 points. Anderson, Connolly, Coughlin, Kurt Johnson and Allen Johnson (no relation) are the top contenders for the title.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

So far: Matt Guidera surprised many by starting the season with a win and a runner-up finish on his Buell V-Twin, but three-time champion Andrew Hines soon cruised by with back-to-back wins on his Vance & Hines-powered Harley-Davidson V-Rod and led the points for the next eight races. Defending champion Matt Smith recently caught and passed Hines on his Buell on the strength of three victories in the last four events.

U.S. Nationals outlook: The only rider in the field with multiple wins at O’Reilly Raceway Park is three-time series champion Angelle Sampey (wins in 2001 and 2002), and she hasn’t visited a winner’s circle anywhere in 25 events, a career-long drought dating to Houston in 2007. However, she is coming off two runner-up finishes on her Buell. A tick quicker than the rest of the pack, Smith and Hines are the solid favorites.

Countdown outlook: It’s shaping up to be a real shootout between Smith and Hines, but don’t be surprised if Craig Treble sneaks in and causes headaches for the front-runners. Treble was just hired by Don Schumacher Racing to ride a second Suzuki as a teammate of Chip Ellis, who is third in points. If his equipment is as good as Ellis’, he certainly has the ability to win it all. Chris Rivas is representing S&S Cycles this year and also could make noise on his Buell.

Alan Johnson to leave DSR, partner on two-car team

Alan Johnson

The most decorated Top Fuel crew chief in NHRA history, Alan Johnson, will field a two-car team in 2009 through a partnership with Qatar-based Al-Anabi Racing. A seven-time NHRA Top Fuel champion with 75 professional-level national event victories to his credit, Johnson has tuned Tony Schumacher to the last four Top Fuel titles and the current points lead.

This new alliance will field a Top Fuel dragster and a Funny Car. They will start the 2009 season on Feb. 5-8 with the NHRA Winternationals in

Pomona, Calif. Johnson has not selected drivers for the new cars.

At the forefront of this partnership is His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, who has set a goal of promoting the domestic and international awareness of motorsports in the nation of

Qatar. As a result of his efforts, Al-Anabi Racing has emerged as one of the leading drag racing teams in the region.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Alan Johnson Racing,” Johnson said. “We look forward to our relationship with Al-Anabi Racing and the people of

Qatar. It’s widely known that my goal for quite some time now has been to become a team owner again, and this is my best opportunity to achieve that goal.”

“I have enjoyed a wonderful experience with the U.S. Army race team. I wouldn’t change the past five years for anything. My focus for the remainder of the season will be to put forth my best effort to win the fifth consecutive championship for the

U.S. Army, Tony Schumacher, and DSR.”

Schumacher, Army reaction Following Saturday’s announcement by U.S. Army Top Fuel crew chief Alan Johnson that he will be leaving Don Schumacher Racing at the conclusion of the 2008 season to become a team owner, U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher and Colonel David Lee, G-7, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Communications for the U.S. Army Accessions Command, offered their perspectives.

Including his Sportsman-level successes with his late brother Blaine Johnson, Alan Johnson has amassed 11 championships in his career, four in Top Alcohol and seven more in Top Fuel. Additionally, Johnson has tuned his drivers to eight national records over the years, including six elapsed time and two top speed marks.

Al-Anabi Racing is nearing completion of a state of the art drag race track in

Qatar. Built by

U.S. experts the track is expected to host its first race in December 2008. Al-Anabi Racing is also co-owner along with Awesome Motorsports of the recently formed “Awesome Al Anabi,” whose drivers are employed by Al-Anabi Racing and race the team’s Pro Modified cars in IHRA and NHRA competition. Sheikh Khalid’s vision is to build championship-caliber race teams in the United States and

Qatar.

Qatar, an

Arabian gulf country in the middle east, is fast becoming a global meeting place. In 2004, it established the

Qatar

Science & Technology

Park to attract and serve technology-based companies and entrepreneurs from overseas and within

Qatar. The country also established an

Education

City with numerous international colleges. For the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar established

Sports

City, consisting of Khalifa Stadium, the

Aspire

Sports

Academy, aquatic centers, exhibition centers, and many other sports-related buildings and centers. Future plans call for an

Entertainment

City.

New top-end safety system at O’Reilly Raceway Park

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Modifications at the top end of O’Reilly Raceway Park include four-foot-high concrete walls on each side of the sand trap, an eight-foot-high catch fence, catch fences alongside the sand trap, and two catch nets.

NHRA announced Tuesday that it has modified the top end at O’Reilly Raceway Park at

Indianapolis, where the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals will be contested this weekend.

The changes at the top end were made by NHRA after consultation with the racing community and taking into account the layout of O’Reilly Raceway Park to assist in keeping race vehicles at the top end of the racetrack within the confines of the dragstrip. The system includes four-foot-high concrete walls on each side of the sand trap, replacing two-foot-high steel Armco guardrails.  

Atop the concrete walls is an eight-foot-high catch fence on both sides of the track, making the total height from the ground to the top of the fence a distance of 12 feet. The catch fences on the sides and at the end of the track are similar to what is used in speedway ovals in stock-car and open-wheel racing.

The entire trap measures 240 feet and is filled with small pea gravel. A six-foot-high net is placed 190 feet into the sand trap, followed by a 12-foot-high net at 215 feet. The distance from the second net to the catch fence adds an additional 25 feet. The catch fence at the end of the sand trap is 19 feet high.

These changes are part of NHRA’s ongoing effort to investigate ways to continue to improve safety.

In addition, experts from the

University of

Nebraska, creators of the SAFER wall barriers currently used in stock-car and open-wheel racing, will join NHRA officials and members of the racing community this weekend to engage in discussions on additional recommendations on improving safety.

MCCLENATHAN LOOKS TO SCORE THIRD U.S. NATIONALS TITLE

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Aug. 25, 2008) – FRAM Top Fuel dragster driver Cory McClenathan is looking to score his third career victory at the biggest and most prestigious NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event of the season, the 54th annual U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. McClenathan has reached three final rounds at Indy, racking up wins in 1996 and 2002, and recording a runner-up finish in 1997.

With a spot in the Countdown to 1 secured, McClenathan and the FRAM team are concentrating on maintaining their current No. 4 spot in the point standings heading into the six-race playoffs for the championship following the U.S. Nationals.

“If you had asked me a week and a half ago, I would’ve said we had a slight chance of keeping up with the points leaders,” he said. “But they’ve pulled away and we have to face that fact and try and keep the drivers behind us in the points from catching us. Basically, we just want to solidify our spot in the standings and go out there and qualify well and win the race. That’s our objective.”

After not making the Countdown to 1 last season, McClenathan goes into this year’s U.S. Nationals concentrating on his driving and the performance of the FRAM dragster.

“Last year I missed getting into the Countdown and it was a big letdown for me,” he said. “It’s a very cool feeling to know that we’re in and we’re in solidly and we don’t have to worry about it. You’re able to put your efforts toward other things. Indy is such an important race that it’s hard to look beyond that. Everybody wants to win Indy; I want to win Indy and the championship. I will settle for nothing less. If anybody messes up at all someone is going to be breathing down their neck, so I don’t want to be one of them.

“I had a long talk with (crew chief) Mike Green and he feels that there are some areas with the car where we can be more aggressive, and it sounds like he’s going to go that route, and I’m excited about that. I think we’ve got a good race car right now, and if we can utilize power in a few different ways it can be that much better at 1,000 feet.

“If I go out and do my job everything is going to fall into place. I’m not looking for any luck and I certainly want to earn whatever position we end up in. Having a good race car at this point and time in the season is definitely a good thing for this FRAM team.”

McClenathan was also low qualifier at the U.S. Nationals in 1993 and 2002.

CORY McCLENATHAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 4 in Top Fuel point standings after 17 events in 2008 (one win in three final rounds, four semifinal, four quarterfinal, six first-round finishes)
* No. 9 qualifier at last year’s U.S. Nationals, advanced to the quarterfinals
* Indianapolis TF winner in 1996 (Tony Schumacher) and 1999 (Andrew Cowin), runner-up in 1997 (Jim Head)
* Qualified No. 1 in Indianapolis in 2002 and 1993
* Won the NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas April 13 this year, his 30th career Top Fuel victory in 53 final rounds
* Runner-up in 2008 season-opening race in Pomona and in Brainerd
* Finished 2007 season 12th in Top Fuel points, the first time out of the top 10 since 2001
* Has recorded 420 career round wins in Top Fuel
* No. 1 qualifying twice in 2008 (Atlanta and Denver), has 32 career top qualifiers
* Runner-up in St. Louis in only final-round appearance in 2007
* Recorded 400th round win in Top Fuel in Richmond 2007
* Has 30 Top Fuel victories in 53 final round appearances, fourth among active drivers on all-time wins list
* Has finished No. 2 in the standings four times (1992, 1995, 1997 & 1998)
* Finished No. 10 in rookie season in 1991. Made first four-second run
* Made NHRA history with first run in the 4.70s (4.799) at Reading in 1992
* First driver to break the 320-mph barrier with 322.17 mph run in Dallas in 1997
* Swept the three-race Western Swing in 1997 en route to four consecutive wins and career-high six victories in eight final rounds
* Won four of the first six races in 1998. Equaled career-best with six wins in eight finals
* Won the U.S. Nationals twice (1996, 1999)
* Qualified No. 1 at 31 races, including once this season (Atlanta) and a career-high seven times in 1993
* Missed four races in 1993 after crash in Rockingham and still finished sixth in the Top Fuel points
* Age 45 (January 30, 1963); born in Wichita, Kansas, now lives in Brownsburg, Ind.; has 17-year-old daughter Courtney
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2008; third season with sponsorship from FRAM

Nancy Matter Racing Debuts a New Look Heading Into Topeka

 

“Everything has come together so quickly” notes Matter.

Topeka, Ks. — After a seven week break to relocate their racing shop and music studio, the Top Alcohol Funny Car Team of Nancy Matter is ready to get back into action this weekend at Topeka’s Heartland Park Division 5Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Event.

Many changes have happened and Matter’s team is very proud to announce that her team has a brand new look. Matter, who is always thinking outside the box for alternative marketing, is extremely proud to introduce two new companies to their team and to NHRA Championship Drag Racing. Lamb’s Tire & Automotive Center of Austin and Precision Hail Experts of Lewisville are combined together with Applied Tool & Supply of Austin and TigerFlow of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“Everything has come together so quickly” notes Matter, “when we were contacted by Ron Meredith of Lamb’s Tire and Automotive last week, we had no idea that we were going to be fortunate enough to completely redesign the car, wrap it and receive all fresh parts so we can compete for the remainder of the 2008 Racing season and beyond.”

“I would like to especially thank Tommy and Vincent Strader from 360 Wraps of Arlington for all of their last minute artistic design and application to help us with getting an amazing look for the future. We have a lot more that is still in development stage, and for the next few weeks, we have only one goal in mind, qualify and take each pass one at a time, hopefully everything combined together will produce positive results.”

Ron Meredith adds “Nancy’s team brings a complete new approach to our business plan and development forecast, we are very proud to have them represent our company and look forward to a long term partnership.”

Lamb’s Tire & Automotive Center is a dynamic leader in the complete automotive service business. We are a mission-driven company that aims to set the standards of excellence for automotive service and sales. We are building a business in which high standards permeate all aspects of our company. Customer Service and Quality is a state of mind at Lamb’s Tire & Automotive Centers.

TIGERFLOW Systems, Inc., was founded to provide aggressive solutions to difficult problems facing the construction industry. TIGERFLOW will seek solutions through design expertise, technical know-how and sales support to meet the needs of the next generation of commercial building. Today, TIGERFLOW has an international depth with major commercial, military, process, fire protection, municipal, and industrial site installations world-wide.

Force leads the way as Texas Motorplex readies for ultra-quick shootout for NHRA Championship points

“NHRA is aggressively working on safety improvements but I’ve also been
talking to Force about some of the things we can do to increase safety
at the track,” Meyer said.
ENNIS, Texas (Aug. 18, 2008) – Maybe it’s because Billy Meyer will forever be, first and foremost, a racer. Maybe it’s because he knows he can do more. Maybe it’s simply because he cares about the racers more than the bottom line.

The reason isn’t important. What matters is that Meyer – owner and president of the all-concrete quarter-mile Texas Motorplex – continues to make safety improvements to the track in preparation for the 23rd annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals to be held Sept. 18-21.

One of the biggest additions to the track will be an extended run-off area after the finish line.

“Even though we have one of the longest tracks and sand trap areas in the sport, we decided after the Scott Kalitta accident (at Englishtown, N.J. in June) that we should extend our safety area as much as possible just because you never know,” Meyer said. “Right now our sand trap is about the length of a football field and we are extending our so it will be three times as long. The walls are going to not only be taller than the height on the track, but the walls also are going to continue to narrow down to be able to funnel a car into a safe zone eliminating the chance that a car hits anything.

“What Scott Kalitta’s accident taught is that even though we have not had a runaway car in a long, long time in this sport, it can happen. There is no reason to spare any expense if it can spare another racer’s life. Even if the chances are one in a million that it could happen again, we can’t take that chance.”

One of the people Meyer and the Texas Motorplex crew has leaned on for advice on how to make the track safer is John Force. The prolific 14-time NHRA POWERade Funny Car champion was injured in a second-round accident at Texas Motorplex in 2007 when his car collided with Kenny Bernstein. Force suffered two broken legs and severe damage to his arms and hands when his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang Funny Car struck Bernstein as both cars were going more than 300 mph.

Force was a patient at Baylor University Medical Center for 27 days while he recovered from his injuries. He didn’t race again until the 2008 season opener in February.

“NHRA is aggressively working on safety improvements but I’ve also been talking to Force about some of the things we can do to increase safety at the track,” Meyer said. “Force’s team has been at the forefront of the quest to make the sport more safe. I spent a lot of time racing cars in my life and I know that we always need to be working on improvements.”

Force –– and his Force Racing Team started The Eric Medlen Project (TEMP) after his team driver, Eric Medlen, was killed in March 2007 during a testing accident at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway. The project’s aim is to enhance race car safety in all forms of motorpsorts through rigorous research and development. Compelling

“I’m excited Billy Meyer is making additional safety improvements to the Texas Motorplex,” Force said. “As a former funny car driver Billy has always wanted what is best for the racers. He has always been an innovator and I think the changes he is making to his track, especially the longer sand pit, will give drivers a better chance to avoid serious injuries. I can’t wait to get back to Texas.”

Meyer said he is proud of what Force’s organization is doing in terms of drawing attention to the need for more safety measures that work.

“They are leading the way and I think we should all work together and see what we can accomplish to keep the sport safe and exciting,” Meyer said. “I will do what I can to continue the dialogue for how tracks can improve their facilities. I think it’s important that Force has teamed up with Ford Motor Co. to conduct research and design. Instead of just guessing, they will bring a technical expertise that will accomplish great things.”

Sportsman qualifying begins at 10 a.m. on Sept. 18. The first of four rounds of professional qualifying is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 19, continuing at 6:45 p.m. that evening. Qualifying wraps up with sessions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sept. 20. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sept. 21.

Tickets for all four days of racing can be purchased by phone at 800-MOTORPLEX (688-6775) or at the track.

Force leads Showdown qualifiers in pursuit of $100,000 prize in Indy
 

Funny Car driver Ashley Force will start from the No. 1 position in the NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown Aug. 31 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at

Indianapolis as she competes for her first victory in the special bonus event for qualified Funny Car drivers. Force is the first female driver to qualify for the Funny Car bonus event in NHRA history.

The NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown, a high-stakes, high-speed race featuring the eight quickest and most consistent Funny Car teams from the last season, is a lucrative race within a race held during the 54th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the world’s most prestigious drag race.

The winner of the 27th annual NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown will earn a $100,000 bonus from U.S. Tobacco. If the driver who wins the NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown also scores the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals title, he or she will earn a $50,000 double-up bonus from NHRA.

A race-day purse of $147,000 is available for the eight drivers competing in the NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown. The runner-up will earn $15,000, and the two semifinalists will earn $6,000 each. The four first-round finishers will earn $5,000 apiece.

Ashley Force, the top seed in the NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown, will face her famous father, John, in the first round of the bonus event.

Force, from

Yorba Linda, Calif., qualified No. 1 twice in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang in the 23 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events that make up the 2008 NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown. It is Force’s first appearance in the special event, and it extends to 19 the number of years that a John Force Racing car has held the top spot for the event. Some intriguing first-round meetings are scheduled, two of which feature family rivalries. Ashley will face her father, John, in the opening round. John, a six-time winner of the event, qualified for the eight-car field at the last instant in

Reading to make his 24th consecutive appearance and 25th overall in the bonus event.

“I’m really excited to get to participate this year,” said Ashley. “It’s one of my strongest memories I probably have growing up. We always got to the Indy race, and it was always such a big weekend for us, and now to actually be involved in it, it’s just so special that I’m able to race my dad. It will be really exciting for the fans and, of course, for the media. But it will be fun for us as well. We know one of the Forces will be going to the semi’s of the Showdown.”

Brothers Tony and Cruz Pedregon also will meet in the first round. Tony won the event in 2003 and was runner-up in 1997 and 1999. Cruz finished as runner-up in 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1998. Robert Hight, who led the field with No. 1 qualifying positions at five, and Del Worsham, who doubled up by winning the bonus event and the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in 2005, will meet in the opening round, as will three-time event winner Ron Capps and POWERade Series points leader Tim Wilkerson.

“[The bonus race] is on Sunday, and it still counts towards qualifying,” said Capps, last year’s runner-up to Jack Beckman. “There have been times when guys weren’t in the show, yet they were going a round in the Showdown. You know, you’re trying to concentrate on getting into the show, but you’re trying to win the race at the same time. That is $100,000 for the U.S. Smokeless Showdown. So I’ve got the same team in the

NAPA guys this year. It’s the same team we had the last three years. We went to the final last year in the Showdown, so I think the approach is to get into the show, get qualified Saturday and Sunday, and then you can kind of let it all hang out and treat Sunday as the Showdown as just a race by itself. Hopefully, win that and get ready for Monday. “

Drivers accumulated points for the NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown at 23 NHRA national events from last year’s Mac Tools U.S. Nationals to the 2008 Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals in

Reading. A $4,000 bonus was awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each of those races.

Last year, Beckman raced to victory for his first win in the Showdown. He will not be able to defend his crown as the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge driver failed to qualify for the event this season.

Other past winners of the event include Gary Densham, Frank Pedregon, Kenji Okazaki, Al Hofmann, Jim White, Don Prudhomme, Mark Oswald, Kenny Bernstein, Tom McEwen, and Frank Hawley.

NHRA U.S. Smokeless Showdown rounds are scheduled for 12:30, 3:30, and 5 p.m. Aug. 31.

2008 NHRA U.S. SMOKELESS SHOWDOWN FINAL STANDINGS
1. Ashley Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang	2,945
2. Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Auto Club Ford Mustang	2,930
3. Tony Pedregon, Detroit, Q Horsepower Chevy Impala SS	2,895
4. Tim Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS	2,870
5. Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger	2,770
6. Cruz Pedregon, Indianapolis, Advance Auto Parts Toyota Solara	2,615
7. Del Worsham, Chino Hills, Calif., Checker Schuck’s Kragen Chevy Impala SS	2,385
8. John Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang	2,370

2008 NHRA

U.S. SMOKELESS SHOWDOWN ROUND PAIRINGS
First round
Ashley Force vs. John Force
Robert Hight vs.

Del Worsham
Tony Pedregon vs. Cruz Pedregon
Tim Wilkerson vs. Ron Capps

Semifinals
 A. Force-J. Force winner vs. Wilkerson-Capps winner
Hight-Worsham winner vs. T. Pedregon-C. Pedregon winner

Pink is empowering for Ashley

Indianapolis, pre-race: The special-edition Castrol GTX Ford Mustang in which Ashley Force this week will try to become the first woman to win a Funny Car title at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the world’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious drag racing event, definitely is pretty in pink.

Nevertheless, rivals aren’t likely to be fooled by the distinctive paint that celebrates the 25-year-old’s 2007 rookie-of-the-year season.

That’s because they know that beneath the feminine facade beats the mechanical heart of one of the world’s most potent race cars, one in which Force not only became the first woman in drag racing history to win an NHRA Funny Car race, but also the first to reach a final round, the first to lead the points, and the first to earn a starting berth in NHRA’s Countdown to 1.

The graduate of Cal State, Fullerton picked the color for the car. For her, it recalls an era of empowerment for women in drag racing, an era in which Shirley Muldowney’s hot pink Top Fuel dragster shook the very foundation of the sport.

“This is my first specialty car,” she said, “and I love the color pink. I asked my team about having a pink car since it’s their rookie of the year car as much as it is mine, but they were fine with it. They actually thought it would be intimidating since, while they will never admit it, most guys don’t want to lose to a girl much less a girl in a pink race car.

“There will never be another rookie-of-the-year car for me, and I’ll only race it one time, so that will be doubly special,” she said.

As a youngster, Force was inspired by Muldowney, who, after becoming the first woman licensed to drive in Top Fuel, won world championships in 1977, 1980, and 1982.

“When we went to the races with my mom, we always wanted Dad to win, but I used to cheer for Shirley and the other girls in racing, too. They were an inspiration just like I hope I can be to girls from this generation.”

In her second season, Force has begun to come into her own, and that has led to a not-so-subtle change in perception among race fans.

Whereas she once was identified solely as “John Force’s daughter,” more often, people who gather around the John Force Racing compound point to the elder Force signing autographs next door and identify him as “Ashley’s dad.”

John characterizes it as “a changing of the guard.”  At 59, the 14-time world champion acknowledges that he is in the twilight of his career. Nevertheless, he has said he will continue to race vicariously through Ashley and her younger sisters,

Brittany, 22, and Courtney, 20, who also are competing at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, though not in Funny Car.

“Our car has been running good,” Force said of her Dean Antonelli- and Ron Douglas-prepared Ford. “It just hasn’t happened for us on race day, at least not lately. We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. If we stay consistent like we’ve been, it’ll come back around.”

A winner in April in

Atlanta, where she beat her famous father in the final round of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, Froce was runner-up at two races and started from the No. 1 qualifying position at two of the last three races.

IRS raids office of Torco Racing

Fuels’ Evan Knoll

DECATUR, Mich. - Internal Revenue Service agents raided the business office of Evan Knoll, president and chief executive of Torco Racing Fuels Inc. and one of drag racing’s biggest names.IRS spokesman Stephen Moore said the agents executed a search warrant Thursday at the office in downtown Decatur, about 150 miles west of Detroit.

Agents also had a search warrant for a residence in the southwestern Michigan village, but Moore declined to say whose home it was or what the agents were seeking.

Telephone calls seeking comment were made to Knoll’s office and to his Decatur home, but there was no answer at either location. A phone message was left at the Ada office of his lawyer, Larry Wilson.

About 20 federal agents and deputies from the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the operation, Moore told the Kalamazoo Gazette for an online story.

Undersheriff Paul Edwards said federal agents had an 8 a.m. briefing at the sheriff’s office in nearby Paw Paw before heading to Knoll’s business office.

Edwards said the IRS contacted his department Wednesday and asked the agency to provide a “uniformed presence” during the search. The federal agents did not tell local authorities what they hoped to confiscate or why, he said.

Knoll and his businesses have been hit with three federal lawsuits since April 2007 that allege contract breaches and seek millions of dollars.

Knoll Gas Motorsports announced in January, less than a month before the season began, that it was withdrawing millions of dollars of sponsorships from a number of drag racing teams.

Knoll recently stopped construction of a $2 million home in Decatur and several contractors have filed liens against the property for unpaid invoices, the newspaper reported.

He has remained out of the public spotlight for a number of months, citing lingering health issues related to a 2004 car crash and a related head injury.

It’s crunch time again for Grubnic, who hopes to avoid repeating playoff miss

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The upcoming Mac Tools

U.S. Nationals is the 18th and final race of the Countdown to the Championship regular season. In Top Fuel, where eight of the 10 playoff berths have been clinched, only 10 points separate the three drivers, Dave Grubnic, Doug Kalitta, and Morgan Lucas, competing for the final two playoff berths.

Last year, Grubnic, driver of Kalitta Motorsports’ DHL dragster, was bumped from the Countdown playoffs by a mere three points by Doug Herbert’s dramatic win at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals. Grubnic is looking to offer a different story line in 2008. Entering the regular-season finale next weekend, Grubnic is in ninth place with 736 points, just four points clear of teammate Kalitta and 10 points ahead of Lucas. “Here we go again,” he groaned.

“We went through this last year and got bumped out by three points, and to make matters worse, we had a rain delay, and that race never got finished until Wednesday. So for two days I was sitting there stressing out on what was going to happen,” recalled Grubnic, who qualified a fine fourth and won Sunday’s first round before action was called. When racing resumed Monday, he lost in the second round to Lucas.

“But it is what it is. We’ve got knocked out, and here we are looking down the barrel, fighting for our position again, but we’re definitely not going to let it go, that’s for sure.”

After reaching the final round in

Phoenix, the second event of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, which catapulted him to third in points, Grubnic hasn’t made it past the second round, including 10 first-round losses. Those early outs are tempered somewhat by his car’s potential, as evidenced by his No. 1 qualifying position in

Madison. His James Riola-tuned DHL digger has consistently been a top-half qualifier.

“Our attitude stays the same,” he insisted. “We get asked a lot, ‘Are you going to do anything different? Will the pressure affect you or whatever?’ But we go to each event with the same goal. And obviously our goal is to be the No. 1 qualifier and to win the event. So nothing really changes there.

“So we’re going to go back into Indy with that goal as well. So, you know, hopefully, if we can achieve that, it will keep us locked into the Countdown. But I know how it is. Morgan’s going to go in there with the same attitude, and so is my teammate Doug Kalitta.

“And we’ll just have to wait until Indy and see how all this plays out. But it definitely makes it an exciting event, that’s for sure.”

A win in Indy for Mac Tools, a team sponsor and main backer of Kalitta’s team car, would be great salve for a tough season for Connie Kalitta’s operation, which suffered the loss of Scott Kalitta in Englishtown and save for Hillary Will’s breakthrough win in Topeka has been devoid of many highlights, but the team will remained focused on its primary goal of making the playoffs.

“Considering the year that Kalitta Motorsports has had, there are a lot of other things that we look at as well when it comes to winning the

U.S. Nationals,” he said. That has to be set aside. We go out there like facing one round at a time. You know, we’ve obviously got to win that round. In qualifying, we’ve got to run well. But that’s my attitude, exactly. Sort of like well, we’ve got to be in the Countdown, we’ve got to win the

U.S. Nationals. There are so many things that sort of weigh up, and you’ve got to set it all aside and take it one round at a time. That’s my attitude.”

Except for a semifinal finish in 2005, the U.S. Nationals has not been especially kind to Grubnic, who has reached the second round only once in five other tries, but he keeps hoping that his moment will come on drag racing’s greatest stage under the intense spotlight of the Countdown.

“The butterflies are bigger, obviously,” he admitted. “It’s especially in my case with everything that’s going on. But again, you have to kind of like keep it in the back of your mind. You can’t let it affect you, if that makes sense. You go up there, and you worry about it, and you do this and that. But once the helmet goes on, it’s like, ‘Okay, you have to become a machine and do your job.’ “