Nitro Dogs Racing

Brown, Capps, Coughlin pick up big wins at 25th Phoenix race

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Thhe silver anniversary of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals in Phoenix was highlighted by triumphant wins by Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), and Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock).

Brown and Coughlin edged out respective multi-time Phoenix victors Brandon Bernstein and Kurt Johnson in the final round. Capps singled in the final when Mike Neff wasn’t able to stage. Brown and Capps leave the second event of the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series as the point leaders, while Coughlin is a close second behind Pomona winner Jason Line.

Antron Brown

Brown started the season well in the Brian Corradi- and Mark Oswald-tuned Matco Tools dragster with a runner-up in Pomona, but the team left California with a thirst for that coveted Wally. He got the chance again when he met Bernstein in the final round. Brown, a former Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, took his third career Top Fuel win two races into his sophomore season by posting a 3.846 at 310.63 mph, while Bernstein smoked the hides and ran a 5.17.

“This just shows you how strong this team is,” said Brown, who leads the Top Fuel points standings for the first time in his career. “During the off-season, I looked at the guy upstairs and said, ‘What is all this adversity for?’ It was crazy. Then I found out that we were going to get Brian or Mark, and I had no doubt that we were going to be a good team. They took our car to another level.

“We were bummed in Pomona, because we had the car to beat going into the final before we had a mishap that slowed us down. The crew is getting more confident with every run. I think we’re going to keep getting stronger as the year goes on.”

The internal components of Brown’s dragster were used and abused every time he got back to the pits in eliminations, but they worked well for 1,000 feet at a time as he ran strong on Sunday. Brown’s motor expired early in a first-round defeat of rookie Del Cox Jr. He was locked in the 3.8-second zone after that by running 3.885 and 3.819 to survive competitive battles against Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher.

Bernstein followed his semifinal performance in Pomona by doing one better in getting to the final round at the event where he scored his first career win in 2003 and successfully defended the title in 2004. Bernstein was quietly effective in his fifth-best qualifying effort before crew chief Rob Flynn dialed in the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster to a 3.890 and two 3.84s on race day while opponents Joe Hartley, Spencer Massey, and No. 1 qualifier Larry Dixon all had trouble. Bernstein’s victory over Dixon was key because the Alan Johnson Racing/Al-Anabi Racing dragster had been the class of the field up to that point, where it suffered a broken a throttle cable.

Ron Capps

Capps and Neff had been the headliners in the Funny Car class from day one, but what was supposed to be an incredible final round ended in anticlimactic fashion when Neff was unable to get his Ford Drive One Mustang into reverse after his burnout. Capps would have been tough to beat, however, as he drove the Ed “the Ace” McCulloch-tuned NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger to his 27th career win with a roaring 4.048 at 306.81 mph.

“The start we’re having to the season is what NAPA signed up for,” said Capps, who had one previous win in four finals at this event. “We did so well with the Brut car, and we were disappointed with what we gave NAPA last year. This is more like it. I’m living a dream right now.

“Neff was having one of those weekends going where they looked like they couldn’t be beat. They had [crew chief] John Medlen in the hospital, and we’re all glad to hear that he’s okay. It was one of those stories that you almost hate to upset.”

Capps entered eliminations from the No. 1 qualifying position, the eighth of his career and his first since the 2005 season. Capps stayed consistent with elapsed times ranging from 4.079 to 4.118 while turning back challengers Jeff Arend, teammate Matt Hagan, and Del Worsham en route to the final round. Capps became the first Funny Car driver to open the season with consecutive wins since John Force in 1997 and is only the second driver to do so since Frank Hawley in 1983.

Neff’s misfortune in the final round was akin to the clock striking midnight during his Cinderella story. Neff took over the tuning chores as well as driving due to crew chief John Medlen recovering in Indianapolis after a stent was inserted around his heart. Neff had the most consistent car on the premises. He is now 0-4 in final rounds. The last time Medlen was unable to attend an event he was scheduled to work at, next-in-command Dickie Venables tuned Tony Pedregon to victory in Seattle in 2002.

Jeg Coughlin

Two of the greatest active drivers in Pro Stock today met in the final round when Coughlin took on Kurt Johnson. Coughlin held a 30-25 advantage over Johnson in previous competition, though the odds were in Johnson’s favor in final rounds to the tune of 7-0. Coughlin got a two-hundredths advantage when the pair of Chevy Cobalts took off and held on to win, 6.643 at 208.01 mph to 6.647 at 208.46.

“I didn’t realize Kurt had such a good record against us in the final, but I didn’t take him lightly because he’s always tough in the money round,” said Coughlin, who picked up the 42rd Pro Stock win of his career – he’s the fourth-winningest driver in class history — and his 55th overall. “We didn’t have the best car today by any stretch, but we just kept crawling our way through them and keeping our head up. To see that win light come on in the final round with the crowd we had today and the points and the whole bit, it feels fantastic.”

“The chips kind of fell the way they did for us to come home with the greatest achievement, and that’s a race win here. You always go into race day wanting a win, but we kind of struggled with it. It seems like in my career in Pro Stock that I’ve very rarely had the feeling of being up front and not wanting to screw up. We just went up each time and raced hard for it.”

The second round of Pro Stock featured upsets across the board as Johnson, Coughlin, Ron Krisher, and Greg Stanfield defeated respective favored opponents Allen Johnson, Line, Mike Edwards, and Greg Anderson. Coughlin was steady if not flashy as he moved Victor Cagnazzi’s Jegs.com Chevy Cobalt through the eliminations ladder. He opened with a 6.619 to beat Steve Spiess, upset Pomona winner Line in the second round with a 6.653, and ran a 6.651 in the semi’s to put Krisher’s good showing to an end.

The wave of second-round upsets made Kurt Johnson a favorite at a track where he had won on three previous occasions. The ACDelco driver overcame a holeshot from Larry Morgan in the first round with a 6.626, scored a holeshot win against Allen Johnson in round two, and cruised to a win in the semifinals with a 6.647 when opponent Stanfield broke after staging.

Lucas Oil Sportsman winners include past Lucas Oil season champions Dan Fletcher (Comp), Michael Iacono (Super Stock), and Mike Ferderer (Super Gas); two-time national event titlist Brad Burton (Stock); and Lucas Oil-sponsored driver Tom Bayer (Super Comp).

Friday qualifying leaders stay on top in Phoenix

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The top performers in the Professional ranks during Friday qualifying remained the qualifying leaders despite an onslaught of great runs in the final day of qualifying at the Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals in Phoenix. Mike Edwards (pictured) will head into final eliminations from the No. 1 spot in Pro Stock, while father and son crew chiefs Ed and Jason McCulloch tuned their respective drivers Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Larry Dixon (Top Fuel) to the top spots.

Never before in drag racing history had a father and son tuned drivers to No. 1 spots in different Professional classes at the same event. This occurred in just the second race of the younger McCulloch’s tuning career.

Though Dixon has been followed closely by his competitors in Top Fuel, he is the only leader in the Professional ranks that clearly had the best car during both days of qualifying. Mike Neff had the best Saturday in Funny Car, and Greg Anderson and Allen Johnson were slightly quicker than Edwards in Pro Stock on Saturday.

Larry Dixon

Dixon was the class of the field throughout qualifying. He wheeled the Alan Johnson/Al-Anabi Racing dragster to respective runs of 3.843, 3.807, 3.828, and 3.818 en route to the 32nd No. 1 qualifying effort of his career. To open eliminations on Sunday, he’ll face Terry Haddock, a Funny Car driver who will be making his first start in Top Fuel.

“I’m happy to see Jason got his first pole, and I think it’s really neat that his dad got one, too,” said Dixon. “It’s great to be up here with a brand-new team. When you look at what [team owner] Alan Johnson has done over the past 15 years, not qualifying in Pomona with only one shot was just a small hiccup.

“I’ve watched this team dominant qualifying in the past when they were with [Tony] Schumacher. Being their driver, all I have to say is that they’re really good. We ran a .82 in the third session when the next best run was a .87, and that’s just amazing to me.”

Tony Schumacher moved around Antron Brown for the second spot during the final qualifying session with a strong 3.826 at 314.46 mph. Spencer Massey stayed fourth in the U.S. Smokeless dragster, so he will start from the top half of the field for the first time in his young Pro career. Massey’s first-round opponent will be Mike Strasburg, who upset him in round one in Pomona.

Doug Kalitta successfully avoided becoming the first driver since Jerry Toliver in 2004 to fail to qualify one race after winning the season-opener. Kalitta went from outside the field to the top half with one of the better runs of the last session, a 3.897 at 307.86 mph. He holds lane choice over Cory McClenathan in the first round.

Ron Capps

Capps remained the quickest driver in Funny Car with a 4.023, the second-quickest elapsed time of the 1,000-foot era. The driver of the Napa Dodge Charger earned the eighth No. 1 spot of his career, one of which occurred at this event while driving for Don Prudhomme in 2000. The Pomona champ is vying to extend his points lead with consecutive victories to start the season, which hasn’t been done in Funny Car since 1997.

“It’s cool that Ed and Jason both got No. 1s,” said Capps. “It’s strange to be around the two of them. They have a neat relationship, because they both have an old school, tough image. Ed gave me a big hug recently, and I asked him if he hugs Jason like that. He just looked at me and said, ‘No.’ ”

“We made three pretty good runs. It would have been nice to lay down another 4.0, but you’ve got to look at the big picture of getting down the track consistently. I hope to keep going rounds. After that win in Pomona, I think everyone on this team remembers how fun it is and wants to do it again.”

Though Capps made the best run in qualifying, it can be argued that Mike Neff had the best race car. The driver and designated crew chief of the Ford Drive One Mustang is the No. 2 qualifier and the only driver to go A to B on every attempt with efforts of 4.126, 4.050, 4.124, and 4.063. Neff, whose crew chief John Medlen is recovering in Indianapolis after a stent was inserted around his heart, also holds top speed at 309.06 mph.

John Force made the biggest move in the final session. His Castrol Edge Ford Mustang stepped up to a 4.069 at 306.53 mph to take the third spot, setting him up for a marquee first-round matchup with Tim Wilkerson. John Force Racing driver Robert Hight stayed fifth, setting him up for a first-round battle with teammate and sister-in-law Ashley Force Hood.

Matt Hagan is making his first career start from the top half of the field with the BrakeSafe team. Jeff Arend and the DHL crew made the field on the bump spot with a 4.196 at 293.60 mph.

Mike Edwards

Edwards sat tight as the top qualifier in Pro Stock, a position he held six previous times in his career and once at this event in 2001. After making the quickest runs in both sessions on Friday with a best of 6.605 at 208.52 mph, Edwards’ Penhall/YoungLife Pontiac GXP was the third-quickest in each of the sessions today with a pair of 6.62s. Edwards will fight for his first win of the season with power from his own engine program and a tune-up from capable wrenches Terry Adams, Josh Robinson, and Alan Lindsey.

“We worked long hours over the winter to make strides in our engine program,” said Edwards, who also leases engines to Ron Krisher, who coincidentally leased an engine to Edwards when he was the No. 1 qualifier at this event in 2001. “We were behind all last year before we gradually got better. Our guys really stepped up. Greg [Anderson] has a top-notch team, and he set the bar so high that it’s been our ultimate goal to get as close as we can to him.”

“When you can run good, you feel like you have a chance,” added Edwards. “We have a chance tomorrow.”

Two weeks after setting the national E.T. record in Pomona, Greg Anderson’s Summit Racing Pontiac GXP made the best passes of the day with a 6.610 and a 6.622. Allen Johnson made the best runs other than Anderson in the two sessions with respective 6.621 and 6.624 blasts, after which the Mopar driver boldly declared, “We’re gonna win this race.”

All of yesterday’s top 12 made the field with Johnny Gray taking the bump spot with a 6.669. Three Dodge drivers (Rickie Jones, Larry Morgan, and David Beckley) and one Chevy driver (Steve Spiess) made the field today with nice runs, and the 21-year-old Jones even ran quick enough in the QuarterMax Dodge Stratus to move into the top half of the field.

Defending event champ V. Gaines was unable to make the cut. The last time a Professional driver failed to qualify as a defending event winner was last season when 2007 Bristol champ Jeg Coughlin posted a rare DNQ at the same event.

Doug Kalitta and Ron Capps opened the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season with wins in Funny Car and Top Fuel at the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Both had not won since the 2007 season, but got their new seasons off to a flying start with morale-boosting victories in Pomona. The Tuesday finish was a rare one, matched only by the 1978 event , whch also needed two extra days to complete.

Race fans who stuck around for what was the sixth day of the initial race of the new campaign saw a new national record in Pro Stock and a bevy of quick runs and exciting pairings thanks to cool weather and a tight track. The Pro Stock final wasn’t until more than an hour after the nitro classes, but Jason Line found the dely well worth the wait as he scored his Summit team’s fifth win in the last six Winternationals.

Doug Kalitta

Kalitta joined his uncle Connie (1967) and late cousin Scott (2005) as Winternationals winners and scored the first victory for Kalitta Motorsports since the tragic loss of Scott in a racing accident last summer. Kalitta, last year’s Mac Tools U.S. Nationals runner-up who scored his most recent win in late 2007 in Richmond, defeated low qualifier Antron Brown in a tight match, 3.82, 308.57 to 3.84, 307.16, to collect career win number 31.

“It’s pretty cool to win this because Connie and Scott have won here, and the roll cage of my car is actually the same one that was in Scott’s car when he won here in 2005,” said Kalitta. “I think of Scott when I’m up there on the line because he had a couple of things he would do to get himself worked up and I’ve followed that, so it reminds me of him when I do them. He’s with us all the time, and I’m sure he’s proud that all three of us have won at the Winternationals.

“I’ve always wanted to win here; this one of the places that ranks way up there on my list, and the Kalitta name has a long list here. I’m just happy to win with this being Connie’s 50th [anniversary in drag racing] and hope we can keep this momentum going and stay in the hunt. We’ll just play it by ear; hopefully this will help our chances of finding a primary sponsor and take it from there.”

Kalitta raced to his 56th career final from the No. 11 spot, blasting past Urs Erbacher with a fire-trailing 4.64 Sunday and then pounded out a 3.82 to 3.86 decision over last year’s Winternationals runner-up, Cory McClenathan, in round two. Kalitta moved on into the final when Morgan Lucas shook and smoked his tires in the new GEICO dragster in the semifinals.

Brown, the surprise low qualifier at this event last year in his Top Fuel debut, again started the season from the pole position, but, unlike last year when he exited in round two, the driver of Mike Ashley’s Matco Tools dragster took it all the way to the final round. Although Brown led qualifying, his eliminations run was anything but spectacular until the semifinals. He could muster just a 4.22 to beat Top Fuel newcomer Steve Faria in round one, then got a gift in round two when Mike Strasburg was unable to stick around after the rain. Brown’s blue digger launched into hard smoke and then banged the blower, which automatically deployed the chute. He crossed the finish line nearly 16 seconds later at just 26.16 mph, but nonetheless reached the final four, where the Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald-tuned machine ripped to a 3.778 at 312.78, the second quickest pass in 1,000-foot history, behind only Tony Schumacher’s 3.777 of last year.

Ron Capps

Capps, who didn’t win his first round of Funny Car racing last year until the fifth event of the schedule, went four straight to open his 2009 campaign, finishing it off with his 25th career win in Funny Car when Jim Head lost traction at the green. Capps’ NAPA Auto Parts Dodge roared to the victory with a 4.15, 296.96.

Capps hadn’t visited the winner’s circle since the 2007 Madison event, but reached his 55th career final and showed that he, crew chief Ed McCulloch, and the NAPA team are serious about regaining the championship form they had showcased in years past. Although they qualified just 13th in the one-shot qualifying, the car came to life in eliminations by running low e.t. of the first three rounds. A 4.12 in round one dispatched John Force,and a 4.088 sent Bob Tasca III home early. In the semi’s, Capps sent packing perennial Pomona finalist Robert Hight, the low qualifier and the last of the Force Racing entries, in a spectacular match, 4.054 to 4.08, which was low e.t. of  eliminations.

“We ran 4.07 in the final here last year when we lost [at the NHRA Finals],” said Capps, who also won his first NHRA national event on a Tuesday, in Seattle in 1995, “and that 4.05 against Robert was awesome because we always get up to race him and Jimmy Prock. We bring out the best in each other, and we knew we’d have to have our A game. We were worried about Jim Head, too, because he can run low e.t. at any time, and we learned that lesson last year in Seattle against Tony Bartone, where I was already counting that trophy before we ran him in the final. But seeing Doug win in front of us was very emotional, and I couldn’t wait to get down there to celebrate with him.

“It’s cool to be the first Full Throttle winner,” said Capps, whose win was his first for NAPA, “and it’s great for NAPA. We really wanted to get them a win this year because they really like our program and love what NHRA does for them because the customers can get so close. They were blown away when they came aboard last year and are doing so much with us with the TV commercials and everything. This is a big win for us.”

Head, who hadn’t been to the winner’s circle in Funny Car since the 1985 event in Brainerd and to any winner’s circle since the 1997 Memphis event in Top Fuel, reached the final round, his 10th in Funny Car and 18th overall with his self-financed Toyota with a combination of luck and guile. Former world champ Tony Pedregon was ahead of him in round one before hiking the front end on his mount and crossing the centerline. In round two, Head put a holeshot on Ashley Force Hood and walked away with a 4.09 to 4.05 decision, narrowly getting the win as he rode the guardwall all the way down before kissing it just past the finish line. Head then advanced to the final with a 4.10 against local favorite Gary Densham.

Jason Line

Line followed only teammate Greg Anderson on the qualifying sheets but after his Summit running buddy went out in the semifinals, Line picked up the banner and carried it forward, topping the day with a 6.65, 211.63 victory over Edwards’ 6.57, 210.01. Line’s speed is a new track record.

“I drove pretty good out there which feels pretty good because I’ve been criticized for that in the past,” said Line, who left on all four of his opponents. “I drove decent and had a pretty good hot rod – probably the second best one here – and I would have loved to have raced Greg in the final, but we had a good race and it feels good to win. I botched the shift in the final or I probably would have gotten the speed record because I hit the chip in third gear and again in fifth gear because I was so excited to be getting down the track in the final.

“We knew these conditions would be fast, and we seem to shine in these types of conditions, so I was excited about it. I don’t know what it is about this race, but our team seems to do really well here. It seems like the more time we have in the shop, the better we do, and you’re always pumped up to come here to start the season.”

Line reached his 35th career Pro Stock final and scored his 16th win in the class by powering Ken Black’s Summit Racing GXP from the No. 2 spot with a pair of 6.50-second runs in the second and semifinal rounds. After an opening 6.67 against Rickie Jones, Line ran 6.549 to beat Johnny Gray and then a 6.584 to trailer Allen Johnson and reach the final.

Edwards, who was going for 16th win in his 30th career Pro Stock final, beat Greg Standfield with a stout 6.59 in the opening frame and followed with a second-round conquest of Jim Yates before upsetting low qualifier Anderson in the semifinals on a holeshot, 6.57 to 6.55

Anderson, who won the Winternationals four of the previous five years (missing only in 2005), broke his own near-two-year-old 6.536 national record with a 6.528-second blast in the second round that was backed up by his first-round 6.568. The last time that the national record in Pro Stock was broken at the Winternationals was 1997, when Warren Johnson ran 6.927. Anderson’s speed on the second-round pass was 211.23, a new track record until Line’s shot in the final.

Despite falling in the semifinals, Anderson trails only his teammate Line in the standings thanks to the 20 bonus points for the record. Runner-up Edwards sits third.

Persistent rain and cooling air and track temperatures forced NHRA officials to call an end to Sunday’s action at the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals with only a mostly complete first round in the books. The first rounds of both Top Fuel and Funny Car were completed and two of the eight first-round pairings in Pro Stock were run down the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona track before a rain, which had caused a four-hour delay earlier in the day, brought an end to the day’s activity at 5:20 p.m.Racing will resume Monday at 10:30 a.m. with Stock eliminator. Round two of Top Fuel will follow at 11:30 a.m., followed by Funny Car and then the resumption of round one of Pro Stock. NHRA.com will present a live audiocast of the day’s action.

Monday’s racing will air during a two-hour show on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD at 9:30 p.m. (ET). Tickets will be available for Monday’s racing for $26. Fans holding tickets for any of the rain-delayed days (Thursday, Friday, or Sunday) may redeem those tickets on Monday for entry.

In-between the delays, quick times and exciting racing were the order of the day as many favorites fell to the tricky track conditions and the lack of ontrack time from Saturday’s one-shot qualifying, but both low qualifiers in the nitro classes moved on into round two.

Though it is just one round, things remained much the same in Top Fuel with Tony Schumacher leading the way with a 3.845 that gave him an easy win over rookie Del Cox Jr. Schumacher enters round two with lane choice over Brandon Bernstein, who had an interesting journey to the second round of competition. Both Bernstein and opponent Andy Carter had to pedal their cars, and Carter’s car responded quicker, giving him the edge. However, just when it appeared the European driver would score his first career NHRA round-win in his debut, his Lucas Oil ride began shedding body panels and drifted toward the centerline, ultimately crossing it and disqualifying Carter from competition.
 
Joining Schumacher and Bernstein in round two are Antron Brown, Mike Strasburg, Morgan Lucas, Steve Chrisman, Cory McClenathan, and Doug Kalitta. Only four of the first-round winners came from the top half of the ladder.

The upsets started early with independent runner Strasburg ousting Don Prudhomme’s U.S. Smokeless Racing team and rookie driver Spencer Massey. Chrisman continued the shockers when he bested David Baca in the following pair. Though he also started in the bottom half of the field, Morgan Lucas made a strong opening-round statement with the second quickest time of the round, a 3.846, that gave him the win over No. 2 qualifier Joe Hartley. Doug Kalitta also started from the slow half of the field, but his 4.648 was more than enough to move him around Urs Erbacher.

One driver from the top half of the field that did escape the first round was top qualifier Brown, who dodged a bullet when Steve Faria experienced more troubles and faded, allowing Brown to win with a 4.222. Fellow top half qualifier McClenathan also advanced when he bested Shawn Langdon, 3.934 to 4.221.

Funny Car low qualifier Robert Hight, who’s been to the last three Winternationals finals and won two of them, in 2006 and 2008, is a round closer to a fourth straight final-round appearance after getting past Jerry Toliver in their opening pairing. Hight’s Automobile Club of Southern California Mustang ripped to a 4.15 to beat the 2004 Winternationals winner to the finish line.

Although Hight advanced, his boss, John Force, in his new Castrol Edge Mustang, did not, as longtime rival Ron Capps put him on the trailer with a 4.125, the quickest pass of the round. Another Ford driver, Bob Tasca III and his Quick Lane Shelby, nearly matched Capps with a 4.127 against Hight’s teammate, Mike Neff, who compounded a red-light by getting extremely crossed up. In round two. Hight will face Jack Beckman, who downed reigning season champ Cruz Pedregon, and Tasca will race Capps. If both Hight and Tasca win their second-round duels, they’ll face off in the semifinals.

On the bottom half of the ladder, Del Worsham was the only driver to make close to a full pass as he booted Alan Johnson’s Al-Anabi Toyota to a 4.19 against Bob Bode. Worsham will face veteran Gary Densham in round two; Densham beat local hero Jeff Arend in their first-round tussle.

“When you get in these cool conditions like this, the track doesn’t become slippery; it actually gets more traction,” said Worsham, of Sunday’s conditions, which produced a number of tire-shaking runs. “When these tires bite like that, if they don’t slip a little bit, they tend to want to shake, and that’s what you were seeing with the tire shake out there and everybody trying to pedal it and get it down there. We just don’t run in these conditions enough to get good at it, so when we get into a situation like this when it happens, everybody’s just doing the best job they can do. If you can get it to where it’s not shaking, you could easily set a record out here right now.

“I’m extremely confident about tomorrow. The first round’s gone, and that really is the nerves, first round at the first race of the season. I feel a lot better about tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Ashley Force Hood added a second John Force car to the quarterfinals when she bested rookie Matt Hagan’s BrakeSafe Dodge. She’s pair off in round two with Jim head, who advanced after former world champ Tony Pedregon hiked the front end after pedaling and crossed the centerline.

 After two days of anxiously sitting idle in the pits while rain was the top eliminator, the NHRA Full Throttle Pros took to the fabled Auto Club Raceway at Pomona racetrack Saturday for their opening — and closing — qualifying efforts at the 49th annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals, the season opener for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.The Pro teams got in only one very quick qualifying pass before rain returned late Saturday afternoon, setting the fields on the one effort. Antron Brown leads Top Fuel, and Robert Hight (4.037) and Greg Anderson (6.588) front the fields in Funny Car and Pro Stock.

Antron Brown

History repeated itself in Top Fuel when Brown powered his Brian Corradi- and Mark Oswald-tuned Mike Ashley Racing Matco dragster to the top of the field for the second straight season, but the 3.708 that came up on the scoreboards and an earlier 3.748 for Joe Hartley were later invalidated in part. NHRA officials released a statement that read “Due to a malfunction in the wiring system, it has been determined that the times recorded by Antron Brown and Joe Hartley were not correct. Those times have been determined to be invalid and will not be officially recorded. NHRA is confident that the two cars in question were among the 16 quickest cars, but because it’s impossible to assign times, the ladder will remain intact. Also, NHRA will not be awarding qualifying points for this race for Top Fuel drivers.”

“It was a phenomenal run,” said Brown. “Our back-half numbers were unreal. It’s always good when a 3.70 pops up on the board because it’s good for the fans, and they really ate it up. This feels good for our team after what we went through in the off-season [the team was sold twice, and new crew chiefs Corradi and Oswald were brought in] and me not qualifying at the [2008 season finale].

“It feels great to start the season the way we have. The car went A to B on our first pass down the racetrack [in preseason testing] and got progressively better as we went along, so we had high hopes coming into here. Personally, I just wanted to go A to B on this run and get in the show anywhere after not qualifying here [in the fall]. I’ve been getting geared up for this all winter because I wanted to make a real run at this championship.”

Until Brown’s pass, Hartley was the talk of the Pomona grandstands as the independent runner and his father and tuner, Allen, are running the full schedule for the first time in their eight-year Top Fuel career. Cory McClenathan’s Fram dragster, with new tuners Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler, sits No. 3 with a 3.851, and Brandon Bernstein rounds out the top four with a 3.866 in the Rob Flynn-tuned Budweiser dragster.

Newly licensed Steve Faria, a former Top Alcohol Dragster racer, holds down the final spot in the field and will face Brown in Sunday’s opening round. Faria was joined in the field by fellow new licensees Del Cox Jr. and Shawn Langdon and fellow rookie Spencer Massey.

The biggest victim of the shortened qualifying is last year’s championship runner-up, Larry Dixon, whose 6.32 was the slowest of the 18 drivers who attempted to qualify. Dixon, in Alan Johnson’s new Al-Anabi dragster, experienced tire shake just off the line, which broke the ignition, and he was not able to get back into the throttle to save the run. “We came to Pomona with the same high expectations as everyone else, but sometimes parts break; there’s nothing we could have done differently,” said Dixon. “It’s unfortunate, but NHRA awards the same number of points at Phoenix, and we’ll be ready to go.”

Robert Hight

Hight, who has two Funny Car wins and a runner-up in his last three Winternationals appearances, continued his Pomona love affair as he shoed his Automobile Club of Southern California Mustang to a track-record 4.037 to lead the Funny Car field. Teammates Ashley Force Hood and John Force were third and fourth, with Del Worsham sandwiched between them and Hight. Hight’s run was quicker than the 4.07 registered by teammate Mike Neff at last year’s Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona. No speed was recorded on the pass due to a speed-trap malfunction.

“I’ll tell you, it’s so much pressure on the whole team and the driver when you know you’re going to have rain-shortened sessions and maybe only get one shot,” said Hight. “My crew chief, Jimmy Prock, shoots for the moon every time, and that worries me sometimes, and especially with this run here. [After the Phoenix test], Jimmy Prock went back to Indy and got on our clutch dyno and just worked night and day and came here with a new setup, something that we’ve never run before. That’s really tough to do because there’s a learning curve with any kind of changes that you make with these cars, and to go out there and go to the top spot is unbelievable. It doesn’t give you a lot of confidence going into tomorrow, though, because, like [tuner] Austin Coil says, it takes 20 to 25 runs before you have a setup that you know works.

“Now that it’s 1,000 feet, when I shut the thing off at 1,000 foot and hit the parachutes, I glanced up and looked at the scoreboard. I saw 4.037, and I was so happy, but I didn’t know what Del [Worsham] ran. I knew he ran 4.03 with something, but I didn’t know if I was No. 1 or not. It’s just a great way to start, and tomorrow’s just going to be exciting.”

Worsham, who had been solidly in the low 4.0s in preseason testing in his new ride in Alan Johnson’s Al-Anabi Racing Toyota, was just a tick behind Hight with a 4.038. Force Hood and her father are also in the 4.0s at 4.061 and 4.092, respectively.

Another Ford driver, Bob Tasca III, holds down the No. 5 spot with a 4.14 in the Quick Lane Shelby, just ahead of 2007 season champ Tony Pedregon’s 4.164. Gary Densham (4.183) and Jack Beckman (4.197) round out the top eight.

Among those not in the field are last year’s pleasant surprise, Tim Wilkerson, whose 5.14 was 17th quickest. Like Dixon in Top Fuel, his efforts were compromised by the abbreviated qualifying.

Greg Anderson

Former Pro Stock world champ Anderson, winner of the last three Winternationals, began his quest to regain his national title at a fast pace, breaking both ends of his own 6.615, 209.39 track records with a 6.58, 209.59 blast from his Summit Pontiac to end the first qualifying session atop the pack. Teammate Jason Line was a distant second with a 6.61.

“It’s not been easy on us [waiting out the rain] because after a winter of working so hard, we want to get on this racetrack and see what you’ve got and see how you stack up, but I’ve had a good feeling all weekend,” said Anderson. “We thought we’d have a good product when we got here, but you never know until you get on that racetrack what everyone else has got.

“It looks like we’ve made some gains from last year, and we’ve got a great hot rod, but I’m not thinking that everyone else is as far back as they showed today. I just think I did a little better job on a green racetrack, and it certainly helped to be the last pair out.”

Allen Johnson, who last weekend won the Pro Stock Showdown in Las Vegas, continued to look good with a 6.625 from his Mopar Stratus, the fastest of the non-GM cars. Mike Edwards (6.628) rounds out the top four with his GXP.

Warren Johnson, who just a few weeks ago was planning on watching the season opener from home, showed newly signed sponsor K&N that it made a wise choice by racing his Pontiac to the No. 5 spot with a 6.629, 208.62 just ahead of reigning national champ Jeg Coughlin, whose identical e.t. had a marginally slower speed of 208.23. W.J.’s son, Kurt, is seventh, and rookie pilot Davd Beckley, in the Mountain View Dodge, rounds out the top eight at 6.650.

Ron Krisher anchors the 16-car field with a 6.832 in his Cobalt and will race Anderson in round one. Among those not making the field were chassis builder Jerry Haas, former Pro Stock Truck national champ Bob Panella Jr., and returning Erica Enders, in the field’s lone Ford entry.

The competition for the $20,000 Auto Club Road to the Future Award, which recognizes the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series’ best-performing rookie driver, promises to be as intense in 2009 as the battle for the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship in each Pro category.Though the official list of nominees won’t be revealed until October when more than 100 of the nation’s top motorsports journalists will vote to determine the winner, three drivers have generated an early-season buzz and staked an unofficial claim as the favorites to win the coveted award.

Matt Hagan, Shawn Langdon, and Spencer Massey will enter the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in 2009 with nervous energy and high expectations as they begin their careers in the world’s fastest motorsport, NHRA Championship Drag Racing.

All three drivers have solid credentials, having constructed their résumés with reputations for winning races and championships and being ultra-competitive in other racing arenas.

All eyes will be focused on them as they compete in the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals, Feb. 5-8, at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. The $1.8 million race, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, is the first of 24 in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Spencer Massey

Native Texan Massey, who won the IHRA Top Fuel world championship last year and has won many races in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series in Top Alcohol Dragster, will be driving the U.S. Smokeless dragster for NHRA legend Don “the Snake” Prudhomme. The car finished second in the Top Fuel points standings last year with crew chiefs Donnie Bender and Todd Smith.

“As a rookie guy coming in, being with Don “the Snake” Prudhomme is something I’ve always dreamed of,” said Massey, who also worked as a crewmember for several nitro teams, including those of Morgan Lucas, Ashley Force Hood, and Scott Palmer.

“I’m not the type of guy to say we’re going to go out and win every race, but we’d love to try to. My goal is to get a Wally. And I want to get to the Countdown. This car is very capable of making a run for the championship at the end of the year. And I’ve just got to do my job and drive the car to the best of my ability. I know how to do it. And ‘Snake’ obviously has high expectations for me or he wouldn’t be putting me in the race car. But I think I can handle it, and I’m ready for it.”

Matt Hagan

Hagan, a Virginia gentleman and cattle rancher who has had much success in Pro Mod competition and shined in his NHRA Funny Car debut last year at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, is eager to begin the next chapter of his racing life as driver of the BrakeSafe Dodge Charger R/T for Don Schumacher Racing with crew chief Tommy DeLago.

“I’m really excited,” Hagan said. “Being involved with a team such as DSR, which has so much knowledge, experience, and great equipment, is going to be very rewarding. It’s one of those opportunities that doesn’t come around but once in a lifetime. I think that as a rookie driver sharing information with teams of the caliber that DSR has will help me improve my driving. Being able to use that equipment and having all the resources that DSR brings to the table will be great for my career.”

Shawn Langdon

Two-time Super Comp champ Langdon, a native of Southern California, was named by Lucas to be the driver of his team’s second car, the Lucas Oil/Dixie Choppers dragster, which John Stewart will tune. Langdon has competed in six other NHRA categories, including joining Massey as a graduate of NHRA’s Jr. Drag Racing League.

“This is definitely an exciting time,” Langdon said. “I’ve got lots of nervous energy right now. I know it’s going to be a big step up, and I’m really lucky to have Morgan as my teammate because he’ll be there to bounce things off of as I learn to drive these things. I can’t thank the Lucas family enough for this opportunity. Their commitment to drag racing at all levels is second to none. I feel very lucky to have this chance.”

Schumacher-Dixon Top Fuel rivalry has the potential to be one for the ages

The popularity of NHRA Championship Drag Racing has been framed throughout the years by dynamic on-track rivalries that have kept fans on the edge of their seats.

Though there have been many great rivalries in the one-on-one world of this high-speed, side-by-side, performance-driven sport, several instantly come to mind:

• Don “the Snake” Prudhomme versus Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen in Funny Car

• Don Garlits versus Shirley Muldowney in Top Fuel

• Bob Glidden versus Lee Shepherd in Pro Stock

• John Force versus Cruz Pedregon in Funny Car

Just mentioning the four pairings above brings immediate goosebumps and vivid memories to longtime drag racing fans. Whenever those racers met on the track, fans were guaranteed a dramatic, compelling race, most often with very high stakes on the line.

In 2009, all of the elements are in place for another great rivalry to develop and join that legendary list.

Tony Schumacher

Larry Dixon

At center stage will be six-time and defending Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher and two-time Top Fuel world champion Larry Dixon. They are two of the winningest drivers in their category. They are regarded as two of the best drivers in the history of the sport. They are both frequently listed in the NHRA record book.And, bottom line, they are both hungry for more.

The twist in this much-anticipated season-long showdown is that Schumacher’s longtime crew chief, Alan Johnson, is now in

Dixon’s corner. The much-heralded tuning wizard, who led Schumacher to five consecutive titles, has formed his own two-car team with financial backing from a sheik from

Qatar. He picked

Dixon to drive the Top Fuel dragster.

Now the stage is set: U.S. Army dragster vs. Al-Anabi Racing dragster. 

One team wants to prove it can continue Johnson’s dominating tradition as a from-scratch start-up; the other wants to prove it can keep its winning streak alive no matter who is at the helm making the tuning decisions.  

The two could meet for the first time in their quest to win the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship at the 49th annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals, Feb. 5-8, at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in

Southern California. The $1.8 million race, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, is the first of 24 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.

Schumacher dominated last season by winning 15 races in 18 finals and being named Driver of the Year for all motorsports in

North America. He will be joined by veteran tuner Mike Green as he sets out to win his seventh world title and defend his Winternationals victory in his U.S. Army dragster.

Dixon, who won his crowns in dominating fashion in 2002 and 2003 while at Don Prudhomme Racing and finished second in points last year after winning the last race of the season, will have longtime friend Jason McCulloch as his crew chief and many of Schumacher’s former crewmembers tuning his 7,000-horsepower Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing dragster.

If what transpired in preseason testing during the last few weeks in Phoenix and

West Palm Beach, Fla., is any indication, this could get really good. Both teams produced similar results, powering to strong 1,000-foot performances of 3.8 seconds at more than 315 mph.

Dixon, who is trying to regain the championship, is excited about the challenge of the season and knows that to get that title back, he has to beat the defending champ.

“He’s still got the No. 1 on his wing,”

Dixon said. “Anytime that you race him, you’ve got to bring your A game. So for me, you know, I try to fire everything I can at him and whoever else we’re running, for that matter. I think time will tell whether there is a rivalry or not. You’ve got to race each other every week to create a rivalry.” 

Schumacher’s motto last year as he approached many longstanding records each week was to have the focus and ability to rise to the occasion and understand the opportunity and make the most of those “moments,” as he called them.

He expects many great moments this season with

Dixon in the other lane.

“I’m fortunate that they put

Dixon in that car because it’s going to be just a huge motivation to beat those guys and have fun,” Schumacher said. “It ain’t the trophy; it’s what it takes to get it.  We’ll have to dig really deep, and we’ll have to work as a team to beat those guys because they are outstanding. I think we have a collection of crew chiefs and an awesome facility and group of people that my dad [team owner Don Schumacher] has put together. So I see no reason why we can’t go out there and give it an absolute fantastic run for a Full Throttle Series championship.

“We’re not going to be the only ones battling in the championship, but it will be great,” Schumacher added.

Dixon agrees, noting that several teams showed potential during testing and that the championship run won’t be a two-horse affair.

“There are a lot of teams out there that you’ve got to look out for,”

Dixon said. “Antron Brown made the quickest run in testing the other day.  Then, you’ve got the same thing with Brandon [Bernstein]. He ran 323 mph. There are quite a few cars. And then the Kalitta team, which hadn’t done any testing with the dragster yet, they’re going to be a strong team as well. You’ve just got to go out there and try to perform against everybody. But obviously having Alan Johnson in your corner, I feel pretty confident about that.” 

While Schumacher isn’t taking any of the other teams for granted either, as a sports fan himself, he hopes a friendly grudge match naturally develops between him and

Dixon and that the two combine to produce memorable epic showdowns that will become a part of drag racing lore.

“I think the hope is that we’ll get to battle constantly,” Schumacher said. “That’s why you watch the Super Bowl. You watch the two teams that have made it the furthest. And Larry Dixon and I have won championships. We’re not going to have to fake it or go out and pick on each other or poke each other in the chest; it’s going to be good. Larry and I don’t play games. We stage our cars, and we race. We’ve never held each other up or done anything wrong. It’s really who has the best tune-up and car at that moment. I can’t wait to get it started. I hope it comes down to me and Larry in the finals of the first race and it gets people on their feet. And everything riding on that moment will make me and Larry do our jobs just a little better than we normally would.”

Johnson edges world champ Coughlin to win Las Vegas Pro Stock Showdown

Allen Johnson

Following an offseason full of moves to enhance his Mopar/J&J Racing team, Allen Johnson opened the year with a win at the annual Las Vegas Pro Stock Showdown at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Johnson bolstered his program with the additions of Johnny Gray as a racing teammate and Jeff Perley as a tuner to his already talented cast. He ran a 6.70 in the final round to defeat reigning NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock champ Jeg Coughlin.

“Maybe we need to do this at all the special races,” said Johnson,
who also won last year’s K&N Horsepower Challenge. “I think we have a really good team of folks. If I do my job, I think we can win some races and get in position to win the championship.”

Cool temperatures and good track conditions paved the way for performances such as Coughlin’s low e.t. of 6.683 seconds, which is two hundredths quicker than the official track record and two-thousandths quicker than his class-leading e.t. at last year’s event. Consistent, fast performances from Coughlin and Johnson throughout the test session proved that they had two of the best cars on the premises.

“We’ve been testing a lot of different things this weekend, even in the final, but we didn’t get way off-base,” said Johnson. “We’re here to get faster for

Pomona. We’re not content right now, but I think we’ll be in pretty good shape.”

Johnson, far lane, defeats Coughlin in the final round, 6.70 to 6.74.

Johnson beats Greg Stanfield in the semifinals, 6.71 to 6.74.

Coughlin defeats Tom Hammonds on a 6.72 to 6.71 semifinal holeshot.

Johnson’s road to the final began with a single when opponent Frank Gugliotta missed the call, and he took full advantage by running a 6.70-flat, his quickest pass of the event. He ran a 6.73 in the second round against V. Gaines, who red-lighted away a 6.74. Johnson took care of No. 2 qualifier Greg Stanfield in the semifinals in a competitive 6.71-to-6.74 drag race. Johnson overcame a slight holeshot disadvantage to Coughlin in the final to win with a fine 6.704 at 205.04 mph to Coughlin’s 6.74.

“As a driver, you like a race like this to hone your skills,” said Johnson. “I was happy with a .03 light; I meant to be a low-.020, but I’m getting back to having that eye of the tiger after going through a slump in the middle of last year.”

Coughlin’s Jegs.com Chevy Cobalt was strong on race day. Coughlin, who won this event last year, was the only driver to reach the 6.6-second range, which he did twice with a pair of 6.68s. The four-time world champ was happy with the results of his new, Todd Bevis-built chassis.

“We had a really good weekend,” said Coughlin. “We’ve made 12 runs with this car, and 11 of them were good enough to learn from. The track came around in the final and we just weren’t ready for it. It’s nice to get back here at the race track with the smell and the fumes to get your competitive juices flowing.”

Coughlin, the No. 1 qualifier beat Bob Yonke in the first round and singled in round two before engaging in the race of the event with Tom Hammonds.

Hammonds was second off the line with a .026 light, and Coughlin barely held on for a holeshot win, 6.72 to 6.71. Racers were impressed with the progress of

Hammonds‘ Race For Achievement team.

“Coming out with a new car and the progression of our engine program have really turned this around,” said Hammonds, a retired NBA basketball player. “I think we can be very competitive this season. This weekend has given us a shot in the arm.”Round one
Johnny Gray (.097) 6.745 at 204.45 def. Ron Krisher (no-show)
V. Gaines (.015) 6.733 at 203.71 def. Bob Panella Jr. (.054) 6.755 at 203.98
Rickie Jones (.058) 6.746 at 204.17 def. Jerry Haas (.037) 6.828 at 201.79
Tom Hammonds (.041) 6.709 at 205.07 def. David Beckley (.106) 6.802 at 202.27
Allen Johnson (.038) 6.700 at 205.41 def. Frank Gugliotta (no-show)
Greg Stanfield (.032) 6.741 at 204.91 def. Rodger Brogdon (.039) 6.913 at 198.76
Jeg Coughlin (.028) 6.686 at 205.91 def. Bob Yonke (-.073 foul) 6.913 at 198.58

Round two
Stanfield (.014) 6.762 at 204.57 def. Gray (.090) 6.762 at 204.39
Hammonds (.019) 6.719 at 204.98 def. Jones (.036) 6.810 at 204.01
Johnson (.055) 6.735 at 204.76 def. Gaines (-.101 foul) 6.743 at 204.14
Coughlin (.021) 6.717 at 205.41 def. bye

Semifinals
Johnson (.043) 6.718 at 205.41 def. Stanfield (.036) 6.747 at 204.57
Coughlin (.007) 6.726 at 205.66 def. Hammonds (.026) 6.718 at 205.10

Final
Johnson (.039) 6.704 at 205.04 def. Coughlin (.024) 6.744 at 204.79