Sunday's Southern Snapshots
Sunday, May 15, 2011
[9 a.m.] Southeast fans are streaming into Georgia's House of Speed, Atlanta Dragway, in anticipation of final eliminations at the 31st annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, stop six of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule. Cool temperatures in the low 70s and partly cloudy skies should provide optimum conditions for the teams today. Pre-race activities are scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. |
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All weekend, NHRA and the Red Cross have had donation booths set up in the pits for fans to donate to disaster relief for Southeast residents affected by April's tornadoes. Pro Stock Motorcycle racers Steve Johnson and Karen Stoffer were among those helping out, and other racers have pledged money based on their Sunday successes. Additionally, Johnson's Suzuki is flying the Red Cross colors this weekend. |
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day is being acknowledged at Atlanta Dragway with the American flag being raised by local officers and flown at half-staff. |
(Above) NHRA legend Warren Johnson and announcer Bob Frey led fans on a Track Walk of Atlanta Dragway this morning. Fans asked W.J. questions and listened to some of his racing stories. (Below left) Frey introduced Johnson, who also is serving as the event's grand marshal, during the pre-race ceremony. (Below right) W.J. also got the honor of firing the first pair, telling the fuel teams of Doug Kalitta and Doug Foley to "light them fuses." |
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[11 a.m.] The first round of Top Fuel was quite an affair. (Above) Tony Schumacher, who has won at every stop on the tour except Atlanta – he has been runner-up twice, in 2000 (to Gary Scelzi) and 2008 (to Antron Brown) – beat Ike Maier. Shawn Langdon (below left) handed points leader Del Worsham his first first-round loss of the season, and local favorite Bob Vandergriff Jr. (below right) got his first round-win since the 2009 Memphis, Tenn., event by trailering Clay Millican. Vandy will take on Terry McMillen, who upset higher-qualified Brandon Bernstein by .009-second. Other first-round winners were Spencer Massey, Doug Kalitta, Larry Dixon, and Brown. |
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[11:30 a.m.] It's a beautiful day in Georgia and the Atlanta Dragway stands are packed with eager fans as final eliminations roll along. After a sweltering Friday and a cloudy Saturday, Sunday's conditions are cool and comfortable with low 70-degree temperatures and some light cloud cover. |
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[Noon] No. 8 qualifier Jack Beckman had low e.t. of round one of Funny Car with a 4.083 with the Aaron's Dream Machine/Valvoline Charger against Melanie Troxel. Beckman, winner earlier this year on the four-wide event in Charlotte, will face low qualifier John Force, who advanced over Tim Wilkerson. Beckman will have lane choice.
Other first-round winners were Cruz and Tony Pedregon (who will race one another), Bob Tasca III, Jeff Arend, Matt Hagan, and Mike Neff. |
[12:30 p.m.] Erica Enders was the big surprise of round one, meting out a 6.607 – at the time the second-quickest run of the event – with the ZaZa Energy Cobalt alongside red-lighting Steve Kent. The run, three-hundredths quicker than her qualifying time, was fraught with tension for Enders because she initially could not keep her engine running before the burnout, but she got it straightened out, kept her cool, and got the win. Unfortunately for her, she won't even have lane choice because low qualifier Mike Edwards, her second-round opponent, duplicated his 6.605 qualifying best in defeating Robert Patrick. Other first-round winners were Rodger Brogdon, Greg Anderson, Jason Line, Vincent Nobile, Ronnie Humphrey, and Allen Johnson, who also ran 6.605. |
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[12:45 p.m.] Jim Underdahl Jr. (above) pulled off the upset of the round when the Suzuki Extended Protection rider slapped a big holeshot on Eddie Krawiec's Harley and won, 7.050 to 6.997. Pro Stock Motorcycle rookie Jerry Savoie (right) also is riding like a veteran. The alligator farmer put the starting-line bite on Michael Ray in round one, cutting a .005 light and winning on a huge holeshot, 7.072 to 7.036. Savoie will take on the reigning world champ and low qualifier, LE Tonglet, who was low for the round at 6.956.
Other first round winners were Andrew Hines, Hector Arana Jr., Karen Stoffer, Matt Smith, and Hector Arana Sr.
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[1:25 p.m.] Terry McMillen will be making his first NHRA semifinal appearance in Top Fuel after defeating Bob Vandergriff Jr. in round two with a 3.92. The driver of the Amalie Oil/UNOH Top Fueler will cede lane choice to Antron Brown, who beat Shawn Langdon with a 3.88. The other semifinal pairing will pit Spencer Massey, who beat Doug Kalitta with a 3.903, against Tony Schumacher, who beat Larry Dixon with a 3.886 to earn lane choice. Schumacher and Dixon had been tied at 36 wins apiece in their 72 previous career meetings. |
[1:40 p.m.] Two-time world champ Cruz Pedregon, whose No. 4 qualifying effort in his Snap-on Toyota extended his streak of top-six qualifying efforts to 17, beat brother Tony in round two of Funny Car with a 4.152. Cruz, who won this race way back in 1998, will face 2009 Atlanta winner Jack Beckman, who earned lane choice with low e.t. of the round, 4.107, in beating John Force. In the other semifinal, Bob Tasca III, who ran 4.121 to beat Houston champ Jeff Arend, will have lane choice against Mike Neff, who beat a tire-smoking Matt Hagan with a 4.126. |
[1:45 p.m.] Mike Edwards reset low e.t. in round two with a 6.581 and needed every inch of it to hold off Erica Enders' holeshot. Edwards, who had an otherworldly .964 60-foot time, won by .009-second. He'll have lane choice over Greg Anderson in the semi's. In the other final-four matchup, Anderson's Summit teammate Jason Line, who got by red-lighting Vincent Nobile, will have lane choice over Allen Johnson, who beat Ronnie Humphrey. |
[1:55 p.m.] Andrew Hines (right) got a single in round two of Pro Stock Motorcycle after Hector Arana Jr.'s mount sprang a fuel leak on the starting line, and it was a fortunate turn for the Harley rider whose V-Rod struggled to a 7.06. Hines will not have lane choice in the semifinals, where he faces reigning world champ LE Tonglet, who had low e.t. of the round with a 6.917 against Jerry Savoie.
Jim Underdahl will have lane choice in the other semifinal after beating Hector Arana Sr. with a 7.00. His final-four opponent, Karen Stoffer, limped to a fortunate 16-second victory after Matt Smith fouled against her GEICO Suzuki. |
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[2 p.m.] After being eliminated in the first round of Pro Stock, featured NHRA legend and Georgia favorite Warren Johnson took part in another autograph session for Atlanta fans. |
[3:10 p.m.] Antron Brown (pictured) and teammate Tony Schumacher both ran 3.880 in their respective semifinals victories over Terry McMillen and Spencer Massey, but Brown, a three-time former event winner (2009 in Top Fuel and 2001 and 2006 in Pro Stock Motorcycle), lost lane choice to his Don Schumacher Racing teammate on speed, 318.32 to 314.02. |
[3:15 p.m.] Mike Neff, winner earlier this year in Gainesville, reached his third final round of the season in Funny Car with his Castrol Mustang by beating tire-smoking Bob Tasca III, but he'll give up lane choice to Jack Beckman, who powered to a 4.1107 against Cruz Pedregon. |
[3:20 p.m.] Jason Line, who has two career runner-ups in Atlanta, will race his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac teammate Greg Anderson in the Pro Stock final after defeating Allen Johnson. Line, who ran 6.607, will have lane choice for the final against Anderson, who upset low qualifier Mike Edwards with a 6.627. The teammates most recently faced one another in a final round earlier this year in Gainesville, where Line emerged victorious. |
| [3:30 p.m.] Karen Stoffer, who won this event in 2007, will be looking for her second Atlanta victory and her sixth overall after running 6.992 to beat Jim Underdahl in the semifinals. Stoffer, runner-up earlier this year to Eddie Krawiec in Gainesville, will give up lane choice to LE Tonglet after the reigning world champ reset low e.t. with a blistering 6.893-second blast to trounce Houston winner Andrew Hines in their half of the semifinals. |
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Ed Hoover's supercharged '68 Camaro captured the win in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series when Houston winner Mike Castellana red-lighted in his nitrous-assisted Al-Anabi '69 Camaro. |
Reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ LE Tonglet got on the scoreboard with his first victory of the season, defeating Karen Stoffer, 6.92, 191.62 to 6.97, 192.30. |
In a rematch of their final round in Gainesville earlier this season in front of a packed house, including the team and event sponsor, Jason Line again defeated Greg Anderson in a battle of Summit Racing Equipment Pontiacs. Line got the win light with a 6.600 at 208.42 mph, his best run of the day, to beat Anderson's 6.610, 208.33. |
In a battle between No. 1 and 2 in points, Jack Beckman collected his 24th win and his second of the season with the Aaron's Dream Machine Dodge when he eked out a tight 4.111, 311.05 to 4.119, 305.49 final-round victory over points leader Mike Neff. |
Antron Brown, far lane, who had beaten Tony Schumacher in 10 of 14 races over the past three seasons, did it again in a rematch of their 2008 final here, driving his Matco Tools/Aaron's dragster to a 3.856, 318.69 victory over Schumacher's 3.905, 315.06. |