Mac Tools
Gatornationals
Gainesville, Fla.
(March 14-17)
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33rd annual |
| Sunday |
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Dixon, Pedregon, Treble also score |
Survival was the name of the game today as the world's quickest and fastest drivers battled each other and a tricky, sun-drenched Gainesville Raceway to crown the winners of the 33rd annual Mac Tools Gatornationals, race three of the 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. In the end, it was a pack of veterans who managed to tame the quarter-mile and take home the hardware in each of the four professional categories contested.
Racing in his third successive final, Larry Dixon downed beer rival Kenny Bernstein, 4.62 to 4.67, to take the Top Fuel hardware. Tony Pedregon -- not his boss, John Force -- was the victor in Funny Car, as Pedregon erased Gary Scelzi. Darrell Alderman won for the first time in five years when he took out Jeg Coughlin, and upstart Craig Treble took the early lead in Pro Stock Bike by beating reigning champ Angelle Savoie, 7.24 to 7.26.
Dixon extended his points lead in grand style with a crowd-pleasing final-round defeat of Bernstein. The two beer car's stayed in each other's shadow most of the way down the track with Dixon pulling away in the last few hundred feet for his second win of the season, 4.629 at 319.75 mph to 4.677 at 319.29 mph.
 Larry Dixon
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Miller Lite's Dixon, the defending event champion, now has 18 national event wins in 36 final round appearances, which ties him with Darrell Gwynn and Shirley Muldowney on the all time wins list. He leads Bernstein in the standings by 105 points.
"All wins are important but going up against Kenny and all he stands for, the beer wars and all that, well it means that much more," Dixon said. "Last year in the finals we were 0-2 against him in final rounds. This year we're already 2-0 against him. I credit the team and all the hard work they put in during the off-season. And you know what, we're still not satisfied. We're staying tomorrow to test some more.
"This race track means a lot to me. I drove my first race car here when [Don] 'the Snake' [Prudhomme] sent me to Frank Hawley's school. Plus, I consider this race one of the majors. We go to 23 races this year but there was a time when the only races were Pomona, Indy, Englishtown, and Gainesville. All the greats have won here -- ['Big Daddy' Don] Garlits, Muldowney, 'Snake.' It's very cool to win here for a third time."
Just as it was in qualifying, Dixon's Miller Lite rail was the most consistent hot rod at the race track. After qualifying No. 1 with a 4.60, Dixon's Dick LaHaie-tuned rail stayed in the mid-4.6-second range all day, which was good enough to dismiss Andrew Cowin, Shirley Muldowney, Paul Romine, and Bernstein.
The Bud King reached his second final of the season by getting quicker each round in his Budweiser dragster. He posted a 4.73 against first-round opponent Bruce Litton, a 4.68 versus Tony Schumacher, and a 4.67 opposite Cory McClenathan. Top Fuel results
Mac Tools driver Pedregon bagged win No. 14 by beating former Top Fuel champion Scelzi in a fire-belching Funny Car finale. The two men were fighting it out side-by-side for the first third of the track before Scelzi's motor started coming apart, which slowed his White Cap Toyota Celica enough for Pedregon to build up a sizable lead.
 Tony Pedregon
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As it turned out, he needed most of it because his Ford Mustang dropped a cylinder just past 1,000 feet and began losing power. At the lights, Pedregon won with a 5.090 at 281.25 mph to Scelzi's 5.750 at 197.13 mph.
"I think I salvaged the day for my boss," Pedregon said of Force, who lost in Round 1. "He's pretty happy now. I told him not to pay me until after Vegas so I don't go and blow all of my money.
"It seems like a long time since St. Louis [the site of his last win]. We've had a car capable of winning more races but just haven't gotten it done. We dropped a cylinder at the other end and I was hoping I wouldn't see [Scelzi] come around me. I might have had to run into him if that had happened. But the motor actually picked [the cylinder] back up again and we got the win light.
"I had to beat that Top Fuel guy coming over here and driving a Toyota. I don't usually talk like that but I was before the finals and I'm glad we were able to go out there and back it up.
"My grandma, La Pedregon, died two days ago and I really wanted to go home and be with the family. But this is a nice way to let everyone know we're thinking of her. I know they're watching back in El Paso."
Aside from the 4.90 he used to beat Tom Wilkerson in Round 1, Scelzi's trip to his first Funny Car final wasn't exactly a thing of beauty. He took a 6.194 to 5.094-second win over a red-lighting John Lawson in the quarterfinals before surviving a back-and-forth tire-smoking duel with Ron Capps in Round 3.
Pedregon kept his Castrol Syntec machine in a zone all day, running a 5-flat during a first-round bye (Al Hofmann failed to show up), a 4.968 in a Round 2 over Whit Bazemore, and a 4.991 against Johnny Gray in the semis. His worse lap, a 5.09, came in the finals but he had enough momentum to win.
John Force carded a rare first-round loss when his car's engine expired in a race against Dean Skuza. Until today, Force hadn't lost in the first round of the Gatornationals since 1989. He must now at least three weeks to get his 100th career win. "I really want to get that 100th win but I'm gonna be laid back about it," Force said. "It's destiny and maybe it'll happen in Vegas. If not there, maybe Houston. Who knows?" Funny Car results
For the first time in almost five years (Englishtown,1997), three-time series champion Alderman earned his way into the winner's circle of an NHRA event. Alderman beat Jeg Coughlin Jr. by simply driving away from the 2000 series champ. Both men left the starting line with identical .469-second reaction times, then Alderman's Hemi-powered machine took over and posted a 6.927 at 200.77 in front of Coughlin's 6.940 at 200.14 mph.
 Darrell Alderman
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"It's been way too long," Alderman said. "I guess an old man can win one of these things. I'm telling you, I was almost at a point where I was thinking, Hell, maybe I'm too old to win.'
"Pro Stock has the most competitive group of drivers I've ever seen. Three different winners already this year and I'd expect we'll see a whole lot more before we're through, including my new teammate Gene Wilson.
"Credit [crew chief] Rickie Smith. He found the quick way down this race track every time. He should be standing right here next to me. Plus, the guys at Nickens Racing and Mopar. We have an awesome car here in this Dodge Neon R/T and the Hemi is a stout piece. Hopefully, I'll be back in the winner's circle myself this year."
Mopar Parts pro Alderman used consistency to card his 28th win in 46 career final rounds. He posted a 6.91 against Steve Schmidt and a pair of 6.90s against Tom Hammonds and Warren Johnson in the heat of the day, before cruising by Coughlin with a 6.92 in the final.
Coughlin drove his Jeg's Mail Order Chevrolet Cavalier to his first final round in half a season by shooting down Mark "Cowboy" Pawuk, Jim Yates, and surprise semifinalist Mark Whisnant. His narrow .016-second win over Yates came courtesy of a mammoth .404 to .503-second holeshot. Pro Stock results
Pro Stock Bike champion Treble threw a big Matco Tools monkey wrench into the Mac Tools winner's circle by beating local favorite Savoie in an exciting final-round race. Treble overcame the lack of lane choice with a .429 to .454-second headstart and then drove away for the win, 7.248 at 184.17 mph to Savoie's 7.262 at 184.52 mph.
 Craig Treble
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"This feels awesome," Treble said. "I won my first race in Brainerd [Minn.] in 1999 and I remember Byron Hines left a note on the door to my trailer that said, 'Enjoy this win because the second one's a lot harder to get. He wasn't kidding.
"We got a bit of a gift in the finals because Angelle was off her game a little. We had tried something in the semis because we felt like we had room to experiment a little bit but it didn't work. So we went back to our regular tune-up and it couldn't have turned out better.
"This bike is brand new. It now has 10 runs on it. I popped the clutch for the first time on Thursday. I guess I should get a new bike for every race."
Treble was steady as can be all day en route to his second career win. He opened with a pair of 7.21s in victories over Greg Underdahl and Antron Brown before beating semifinalist Reggie Showers with a 7.28. Then, when he needed it most, he pulled out the 7.24 to beat Savoie.
She may be searching for a major sponsor but reigning POWERade Pro Stock Bike champion Savoie certainly hasn't lost any of her ability. Savoie powered her Star Racing bike to the finals by getting quicker as the day progressed. She used a 7.19 to defeat Joe DeSantis, a 7.18 to bury Mike Berry, and a 7.17 to slip past Shawn Gann. Her performance to that point made her final-round 7.26 that much more surprising. Pro Stock Bike results
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