Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis
(Sept. 5-7)
EVENT HOME
Tickets
Event schedule
Results
Star Tracks
Audio Broadcast
Photo Galleries
Video highlights
Entry List
Preview
Budweiser Shootout
at Indianapolis
Event sponsor
49th annual |
| Friday |
|
Force, K.J., Savoie also lead |
The 49th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals resumed with a spectacular Friday night session highlighted by Top Fuel driver David Baca's 4.499 at 324 mph, which earned him membership in the exclusive 4.4-second club.
Later in the evening, the near-perfect day ended in style when John Force powered to the front of Funny Car with a 4.759 at 307 mph, just short of the track E.T. mark.
Best buds Kurt Johnson and Greg Anderson posted a pair of IRP records in the cool night air. K.J. grabbed the pole with a 6.778, while Anderson impressed with a 205.01 mph top speed.
It appears Angelle Savoie isn't ready to give up her Pro Stock Bike crown just yet as she improved to a 7.164 at 185.28 mph to easily stay in control of her class.
After watching Scott Kalitta power past him in the standings, Round 2 leader Baca regained the No. 1 position after a stunning 4.499 at 324.51 mph in his special-edition Hunter's Hope Foundation dragster. The pass made Baca just the seventh driver in history to complete a 4.4-second pass in competition.
 David Baca
|
"A 4.49 …unbelievable," Baca said. "That's all I can say. We saw what Scott did and [crew chief] Johnny West came back and said, 'We're gonna step on it.' I said, 'Hey man, go for it,' and he did and we posted our best pass ever. Getting Johnny to join this team must have been the best pick-up of the year.
"I almost blew it on the starting line. I double pumped the accelerator. I don't know if people could hear that, but I was just so amped up and ready to go I almost jumped the Tree all together. I ended up letting Larry [Dixon] go and then chased him down there. I was so upset with myself and I thought the crew would be mad at me but they were all whooping it up when they came down to get me.
"This is awesome. My dad won here in 1977 and if we can keep running like this and I'm lucky enough to win, it would be beyond any dream I've ever had. This is the U.S. Nationals; that says it all right there."
Two-time series champ Kalitta looks sharp in his first race back from a three-year layoff, running his Jesse James dragster to a career-best pass of 4.503 at 327.51 mph. Reigning titleholder Larry Dixon was a few clicks back from that with a 4.530 at 326.08 mph, while U.S. Army runner Tony Schumacher and Doug Kalitta both carded 4.534s. Every driver in the top half of the field has posted at least a 4.5-second pass.
Darrell Russell's struggles of a week ago stayed with his Bilstein Engine Flush team as his motor expired towards the top end of the track. His best of 4.723 at 304.25 mph left him on the bump.
Legend "Big Daddy" Don Garlits brought Friday night's crowd to its feet when he thundered down the track in his Matco Tools Swamp Rat 34, but his best of 4.805 at 310.77 mph wasn't enough to get him in the field. Mac Tools racer Shirley Muldowney is also outside the field after crossing the centerline in the race's third qualifying session. Top Fuel results
Force and last week's No. 1 qualifier Gary Scelzi were the last pair down the quarter-mile and they didn't disappoint, running within .005 seconds of one another. Force's Castrol Ford was the quicker of the two, clocking a 4.759 at 307.72 mph, which made the defending event champ the provisional No. 1 qualifier.
 John Force
|
"That was fun," Force said. "It kinda reminded me of those old match-racing days -- me and Scelzi going at it for the fans. I love it. He's a true racer, a real player. We joked last week that we'd be racing each other for this one and he was down at the scales waiting to congratulate me tonight.
"The motor jumped up real bad on the burnout. I don't know if I knocked a [spark] plug out or not. I must have hurt it because the speed was down but it still ran pretty good. That was our first pass with the new body also and it seemed to work.
"It'll still be cool tomorrow but we'll pull back and try to run some 4.80s. This is Indy and I known the fans will be back tomorrow and Sunday and we need to give them a show. This is gonna be a big weekend of racing."
Scelzi actually improved on his best pass from last Saturday by one-thousandth of a second, running a 4.764 at 325.53 mph in the Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T, but he still went backwards on the ladder thanks to Force's heroics. Scelzi's teammate Whit Bazemore ran a 4.774 Friday but didn't lower his week-old mark of 4.767, which left his Matco Tools Dodge Stratus R/T in third place.
Gary Densham of the John Force Racing camp zoomed up to fourth place with a 4.786 at 320.97 mph in his Auto Club of Southern California Mustang. Densham's run was the last of the 4.7-second passes.
Prior to Friday's lone session, Funny Car journeyman Terry Haddock had never posted a four-second pass. His personal-best run of 4.924 at 308.99 mph placed him 16th on the grid. Funny Car results
Kurt Johnson reset the week-old elapsed time record for Pro Stock with an impressive 6.778 at 203.77 mph in Friday's lone session. The run, one of just four 6.7-second passes at this event, moved the ACDelco Chevrolet Cavalier driver into first place on the elimination ladder with two daytime sessions remaining Saturday.
 Kurt Johnson
|
"I couldn't wait to make this run," Johnson said. "I spent all week knowing that I should be able to run up front and that's what we were able to do. We didn't make a clean run last week. We went left both times. So we tested in Atlanta and worked on the first 330 feet. That seems to have fixed the problem.
"The water in the air is about 50 percent less than it was a week ago; that's why you're seeing such great times and speeds now. These engines don't run as well with all that water in the air and the cars don't cut through the air as well."
Unqualified a week ago, reigning champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. packed up his Jeg's Mail Order Chevrolet Cavalier and drove to St. Louis for an extended test session. Apparently, the extra effort paid off as he rocketed from out-of-contention to the No. 2 slot with a 6.785 at 204.63 mph.
The other main player in the championship chase, POWERade points leader Greg Anderson, pocketed a track speed mark Friday but was nudged off the pole by his good friend Johnson. Anderson improved to a 6.785 at 205.01 mph, but slipped to third overall.
Bruce Allen lowered the bump spot to a quick 6.835 at 201.43 mph in his Reher-Morrison/Speedco Truck Lube Pontiac Grand Am.
To put this Pro Stock field into perspective, the previous track records showed a 6.819 and a 201.31 mph. The quickest bump spot ever at this event was a 6.871 at 199.35 mph. Pro Stock results
Three-time series champion Savoie, a winner here in each of the last two seasons, managed to improve her No. 1 qualifying time of a week ago to a 7.164 at 185.28 mph. The U.S. Army rider now has a sizable .034-second advantage over her nearest rival, Shawn Gann, who couldn't improve on last Saturday's pass of 7.198 at 185.38 mph. Gann was runner-up to Savoie last year on his Mac Tools Suzuki.
 Angelle Savoie
|
"We knew with the weather the way it was that we'd have a good chance to improve," Savoie said. "The run was perfect, nice and straight all the way down. I hit my shift points and stayed tucked in. It was probably as good a run as we could have asked for. Now we want to work on consistency and get ready to race."
Judging by their performance, Andrew Hines and his Vance & Hines crew must have used the week off to work on their Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod. Hines was able to improve by over a tenth of a second from his previously posted time to a 7.201 at 182.65 mph, which placed him third. POWERade points leader Geno Scali dropped one rung on the ladder to fourth when he couldn't better his 7.205 at 185.33 mph from Round 1.
Royal Purple rider Karen Stoffer (10th place with a 7.238), independent Pro Brian Schultz (13th, 7.263), and Cornwell Tools rider Blaine Hale (16th, 7.299) all managed to get into the field Friday after spending the rain delay outside the top 16.
As it stands, 38 bikers have attempted passes at this event, leaving 22 riders with two sessions left to make the cut. Pro Stock Bike results
Saturday's home page (Aug. 30)
Preview