Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals
Brainerd, Minn.
(Aug. 14-17)
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22nd Annual |
| Sunday |
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memorable weekend in Minnesota |
Four classic drag races put the finishing touches on an excellent weekend of drag racing as the 22nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals thrilled a capacity crowd all the way through to the last pass. Doug Kalitta, Gary Densham, Greg Anderson, and Antron Brown all survived super-close final-round races to capture their respective classes.
Kalitta matched Tony Schumacher's 4.698 but won the trophy with a better reaction time. Densham overcame a sizable starting line deficit to nip Tim Wilkerson in a Funny Car final decided by just .005 seconds. Anderson beat championship rival Kurt Johnson by three-thousandths of a second in Pro Stock, while Biker Antron Brown scored his first win of the year by dismissing Minnesota's own John Smith, 7.33 to 7.36.
Kalitta and Schumacher raced side-by-side all the way down the racetrack and when they crossed through the timers and the scoreboards posted identical 4.698-second elapsed times it took an extra moment for the fans to figure out who had won the race. But the jubilation amongst the Kalitta supporters on the starting line gave it away.
 Doug Kalitta
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The difference came at the Christmas Tree where Kalitta left with a stellar .044-second reaction time to Schumacher's very respectable .057-second launch. The final margin of victory at the other end was just over one hundredth of a second. Kalitta now has a 4-4 record in final rounds this year and has won 15 national events in his career.
"That was very close," Kalitta said. "I tape my face shield up and I can't ever seem to see the win light so I had no idea who won until we got to the top end and made the turn. Man, I really wanted to win this race. I have a goal at winning everywhere Connie [Kalitta, crew chief and uncle] has won and I still have a long ways to go but this was one of the tracks I needed.
"We're trying to remain optimistic that we can still pull off the championship even though it's pretty obvious that those guys [on the Miller Lite team] are so good. My cousin [Scott Kalitta] is coming on at the next race so maybe that'll help us. We did make a lot of changes before this race and they worked. Plus, we plan on testing again with both cars before Indy so we'll see if we can't stay up with them."
The Mac Tools team finally had a chance to make up some ground on Larry Dixon in the points chase and Kalitta took full advantage of the situation. By beating Josh Starcher, Doug Herbert, Kenny Bernstein, and Schumacher, he was able to trim Dixon's margin in the championship standings to 271 points.
Schumacher's second final of the year and 27th of his career came courtesy of wins over Cory McClenathan, Scott Palmer, and No. 1 qualifier Dixon. Schumacher and crew chief Alan Johnson were up to the task when they squared-off with Dixon, with Schumacher gaining a .039-second headstart and then riding A.J.'s tune-up to a 4.66 to 4.71-second win. Schumacher moved up to fourth place Sunday. Top Fuel results
Densham gave up a .077 to .105-second advantage to his good friend Wilkerson when the lights flashed in the final round, but he managed to make up the deficit by the other end of the racetrack, winning by a slender margin of .0052 seconds. The official numbers showed Densham crossing in 5.009 seconds at 298.01 mph to Wilkerson's 5.042 at 297.29 mph.
 Gary Densham
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"What a turnaround for this Auto Club of Southern California team," Densham said. "To go from such disappointment with the DNQ at the last race in Sonoma and recover so well that we win here is quite a recovery. We just called the Auto Club and their roadside assistance guys got us going in a hurry.
"We've struggled with the new car. The old one was like a 20-year-old recliner. We knew where the beer holder and the remote were and Jimmy [Prock, crew chief] knew how to work it. Now he's got this new one figured out, and even though I tried to screw it up in the final, we were able to win.
"The car started creeping in the lights and I had to grab the brake extra hard and it just messed up my concentration. I knew it was very, very close at the other end. He blew by me when I pulled the 'chutes and I didn't know who had won until the TV guys ran over to me."
The forgotten member of Team Force came to life Sunday when Densham and his Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang gang roared past Tommy Johnson Jr., Bob Gilbertson, Frank Pedregon, and Wilkerson to take their second win of the season. Densham's 5.018-second triumph over Frank Pedregon in the semifinals awarded him lane choice in the money round by .002 seconds.
Wilkerson's Levi, Ray & Shoup Pontiac Firebird was a contender all day, carding a 5.02 against Scotty Cannon, a 5.05 opposite Bob Bode, and another 5.02 versus Tony Pedregon.
Points leader Tony Pedregon added just 17 points to his season-long stranglehold in the POWERade points when he lost to Wilkerson in the semifinals. He now has a 61-point cushion over second-place points earner Whit Bazemore, who lost in Round 2 to Frank Pedregon.
The recent surge of 12-time champion John Force cooled slightly here. Force entered the race in third place, 199 points behind Tony Pedregon, but his third red-light of the season and seventh of his career, which occurred in Round 1, dropped him back to a 235-point deficit. Funny Car results
Currently first and second in the POWERade points, Pro Stock leaders Anderson and Johnson did what everyone expected by racing to the closest finish of the weekend. Johnson launched first with a .022-second light to Anderson's .032-second start, but he couldn't quite hold off his former co-worker, losing by .0038 seconds at the stripe.
 Greg Anderson
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This was the third time this year that Anderson and Johnson met in the finals with Anderson a perfect 3-0 in those match-ups. Overall in 2003, Anderson has a commanding 6-1 mark against Johnson. This was his seventh victory this year.
"I guarantee you that was as close a finish as I've ever had," Anderson said. "He was ahead of me. I could see him and I know it's not very often that happens with Kurt Johnson in the other lane and you still manage to drive around him at the top end. If I do go on to win it all this year it will be a nice feeling to know I earned it against the best guys in the business.
"This is a special win for me, personally. I had an angel in the cockpit today and he pushed me to this win. I lost my good friend John Hagen here in 1983. He was the guy that gave me a break in this sport. He gave me my start. John was killed here in 1983 and to win at this track 20 years later is something special. I hope he's looking down and smiling. I hope he's proud of me today.
"I'm dedicating this race to John Hagen and his family. His wife Gerry and his kids David and Michael came up from Minneapolis to root for us and they're leaving here with this Wally trophy."
Anderson and his Vegas General Construction Pontiac Grand Am reached their third final in a row and ninth of the season with wins over Allen Johnson, Ron Krisher, and Taylor Lastor III. Anderson had the quickest car in the final three sessions.
Johnson's ACDelco Chevrolet Cavalier rolled past J.R. Carr, Dave Connolly, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. on the day. Surprisingly, he needed a .024 to .078-second holeshot to put away Connolly. Johnson is now 27 and 20 in career final-round appearances. Pro Stock results
Brown's breakthrough first victory of his 2003 campaign, his first since Englishtown in 2002, was a breathless sprint to the finish line. Although he had a slightly better start, he did trail in the race early on before catching and passing local favorite Smith and winning by three-hundredths of a second. The numbers showed Brown taking the victory with a 7.336 at 179.47 mph to Smith's 7.362 at 180.24 mph.
 Antron Brown
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"I thought he had treed me because I saw him out on me," Brown said. "It turns out we were spinning pretty bad in low gear. I finally caught him by fifth gear, that was about at half-track, and when I went into sixth I was gone. That was the best back-half anyone ran all weekend and we needed it.
"We have a true team and that's what makes us so strong. I knew I had the group behind me and I know I personally have the skills it takes to compete at this level. I don't think I'm better than anyone but I know what I'[m capable of and I wanted to reach that potential today. I stayed focused. Pro Stock Bike is like Pro Stock these days. It's so close you have to be on your game at all times because anyone can win."
The U.S. Army Suzuki wasn't the quickest or the fastest bike on the property but it was very consistent as Brown posted routine 7.3-second wins over a red-lighting Fred Collis, Michael Phillips, No. 1 qualifier Reggie Showers, who blew a motor just off the starting line, and Smith. Brown's riding helped. His worse reaction time of the day was a .036-second launch.
Riding the same Kawasaki that Geno Scali piloted to victory here one year ago, Lake Mortgage pro John Smith quickly made-up for a forgettable first half to the season with his 17th final-round appearance. Smith emerged from the No. 11 position and took a surprise win over a red-lighting Craig Treble in Round 1. He then used a .002 light to help outrun Steve Johnson, before drilling Shawn Gann with a gigantic .025 to .131-second holeshot victory in the semifinals.
Even though he finished as the runner-up for the 13th time in his career, this was a great weekend for Smith, who rebounded from a scary accident in Englishtown, N.J., where he came off the bike at the top end after hitting the wall. Prior to Sunday, Smith hadn't won an elimination round this year. Pro Stock Bike results
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