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If Rick Santos is going to win a sixth consecutive championship, he will have to do it without crew chief Norm Grimes, who, after tuning Jack O'Bannon's Santos-driven dragster to an unprecedented five consecutive championships and 29 national event victories in more than five seasons in Top Alcohol Dragster, has replaced Dale Armstrong as crew chief for Funny Car racer Jerry Toliver. Also gone is sponsor Oakwood Homes, leaving Santos' future somewhat clouded. The only thing he would say for sure is that the team will be in Pomona.

"We'll see what happens and go for there," said Santos. "John [Layfield] will be taking over the crew chief role somewhat. He and I will decide what to do, and my dad will probably come back and help."

After winning 12 of 16 races and all 10 that counted to finish with 850 points (the maximum available) in 2000, Santos won nine times in 17 races last season and finished with 819 points, only 21 more than Division 6 rival Mark Hentges. It was Santos' smallest margin of victory since 1997.

Still, Santos won six national events in 2001, more than any other driver, and became the first to break through blown-alcohol's 5.2-second barrier. Not bad considering that the team basically had to start over last year after NHRA upped the minimum weight requirement for supercharged cars equipped with screw-type blowers. With no rules changes to slow him down this year, Santos should pick up where he left off in November.

Santos' biggest challenge undoubtedly will come from Hentges, who led last year's points chase as late as October. The former Super Comp racer reached the final round at his first eight races and won five, including the Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals, his first national event win in the class. He collected three more national event wins and won five times on the divisional level en route to his second straight Division 6 title.

Duane Shields, who finished sixth last year, should also contend. Shields, arguably the strongest runner in the class to not win a national event last year, runner-upped three times en route to his first top 10 finish. He also finished third in Division 6 behind Santos and Hentges.