Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis
(Sept. 5-7)
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49th annual |
| Saturday |
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grab early Indy qualifying leads |
David Baca used a career-best pass of 4.504 to lead a lightning-quick parade of Top Fuel racers as the 49th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals roared to life with the first two rounds of Professional qualifying. Not to be outdone, Oakley ace Gary Scelzi answered the call in Funny Car with his own personal-best pass of 4.765 seconds.
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson shattered the Indianapolis Raceway Park records for doorslammers with a 6.799 at 292.61 mph, while three-time series champion Angelle Savoie returned to form with a 7.17 at 189 mph, which led Pro Stock Bike. Earlier in the day, Reggie Showers bagged $15,000 for winning the K&N Filters Pro Bike Klash.
With the good vibes of his special Hunter's Hope dragster buoying his performance, Baca posted the quickest and fastest pass of his brief career with a 4.504 at 326.32 mph to lead Top Fuel. The elapsed time also set an IRP record.
 David Baca
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Baca's pass thrilled NFL Hall of Fame player Jim Kelly, who was on the starting line as the car featuring his son Hunter's foundation roared to the forefront. Kelly was quick to point out that he had never experienced anything like the raw horsepower of NHRA drag racing.
"It's unbelievable to do this for Jim and his son Hunter," Baca said. "There's a lot of people joining us this weekend that Hunter's Hope has touched over the past few years and some of them have even lost their children, yet they're right there supporting us. They keep saying that we have angels riding with us this weekend.
"When I found out what we had run I started thinking about angels riding with us and I got chills. I'm getting them again right now just talking about it. Maybe things do happen for a reason. It's just so satisfying to do this and raise awareness for this cause.
"We missed the tune-up in the first round so tonight was just an educated guess. Johnny [West, crew chief] said if it sticks it will be quick and he was right. When it got to 800 feet and was still pulling like it was I knew we would put up a quick time. That was an awesome ride."
Points leader Larry Dixon coaxed a 4.537 at 319.29 mph out of the Miller Lite dragster to secure second place. Mac Tools runner Doug Kalitta was next with a 4.555 at 327.03 mph, while defending event champion Tony Schumacher placed his U.S. Army rail fourth after a 4.566 at 324.75 mph.
Driving a borrowed car tuned by a borrowed crew, Indianapolis-based veteran Paul Romine made the quickest pass of his 25-year career when he piloted the Carrier Boyz dragster through a 4.578 at 306.60 mph. The pass placed him fifth on the grid.
Two-time series champion Scott Kalitta earned a top-half berth in his first race back on tour in three years. Scott posted a seventh-best 4.598 at 320.36 mph in his Jesse James-themed dragster.
Part-timer Jim Head barely made the cut after a 4.741 at 294.50 mph, which left him in 16th place. Twenty-five Top Fuel racers attempted passes Saturday, including legends Shirley Muldowney and "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, who both so far have failed to qualify. Top Fuel results
Scelzi's recent run of strong performances continued here with the quickest pass of his Funny Car career, a 4.765 at 316.01 mph. The Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T pro was one of just three drivers to post 4.7-second passes, with the other two, Whit Bazemore and John Force, carding their best passes in the last pairing of the day.
 Gary Scelzi
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"We're really good at night," Scelzi said. "We didn't get down the track earlier but I wasn't that concerned because we tested here last week and ran a couple of 4.82s at night in preparation for this weekend. When we left the pit, Zippy [crew chief Mike Neff] said he expected somewhere between a 4.78 and a 4.82 but by the time we ran, the air had gotten a lot better and, voila, we run a 4.76. It's a beautiful thing.
"This place has a mystic about it. To run my career-best is something special. If I can figure out how to win on Monday I might never leave.
"Since our first-round loss in Denver we've really started to get a pattern of what this car likes and dislikes. We started using Alan Johnson's clutch package and that picked up our 60-foot times. Ever since then we've been running well. Like I said, it's a beautiful thing."
Bazemore did his best to outshine his Schumacher Racing teammate but came up a little bit short, clipping the timers with a 4.767 at 323.74 mph in his Matco Tools machine. Defending event champion John Force was next in the Castrol Ford Mustang with a 4.780 at 317.94 mph, while Johnny Gray posted a 4.821 at 321.27 mph in his Checker, Schuck's & Kragen Pontiac to finish fourth.
Terry Haddock set the Day 1 bump with a 5.043 at 297.09 mph. Six drivers, including Cruz and Frank Pedregon and Del Worsham, need to improve Sunday if they want to race on Monday. Funny Car results
Anderson collected his 15th and 16th track records of the season by doubling-up the IRP marks with a 6.799-second e.t. and a 202.61 mph top speed. The Vegas General Construction Pontiac Grand Am driver carded the elapsed time in the cooler evening session and the mph in the day's first round. His E.T. was the first 6.7-second Pro Stock pass in Mac Tools U.S. Nationals history.
 Greg Anderson
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"It really feels good to be on the pole here in Indy," Anderson said. "It's the most prestigious race of the year for us. It's also pretty nice to have both team cars [including teammate Jason Line] in the field. I think I could have gone a little quicker. The car wheelstood at the starting line and was very loose at the top end.
"We'll have to stay at the top of our game if we want to keep the pole. Kurt [Johnson] is just a whisper behind us. If we get cloud cover it could easily be just as quick as it was today, if not better."
Just as it's been for much of the 2003 season, ACDelco's Kurt Johnson is playing second fiddle to Anderson by the smallest of margins. This time it was one-thousandth of a second separating the top two drivers in the class as K.J. posted a 6.800 at 202.30 mph in Round 2.
Former champs Warren Johnson and Jim Yates were a tick behind their younger counterparts. Six-time series winner W.J. earned the No. 3 slot on the ladder with a 6.825 at 202.18 mph in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac Grand Am, while two-time titleholder Yates came from out of the field to the fourth position with a second-round 6.827 at 201.01 mph.
Competing in just his fourth race of the season, Bo Nickens used his father's Nickens Racing Engines powerplant to secure the 16th rung on the ladder with a 6.856 at 200.50 mph. If Nickens wants to play on Monday, he'll have to hold off 30 drivers currently on the DNQ list, including heavyweights Jeg Coughlin Jr., Scott Geoffrion, Allen Johnson, Darrell Alderman, and Ron Krisher. Pro Stock results
Crowd favorite Savoie marched to the No. 1 position with a 7.172 at 189.12 mph on her U.S. Army Suzuki, one of just two passes in the 7.1-second range carded so far this weekend. Savoie posted the pass in the first round of the K&N Filters Pro Bike Klash, where she beat Harley rider Andrew Hines. Savoie lost her bid to claim the Klash trophy in the next session, where she lost to POWERade points leader Geno Scali on a red-light foul.
 Angelle Savoie
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"I'm almost forgetting what it's like to come up here [to the pressroom]," Savoie said. "The last four races have been tough. Four first-round losses tend to weigh on you. We win as a team and we lose as a team and you'll never hear me say my bike is slow because most of the time when I lose a race it's due to driver error. We've just been having all kinds of troubles.
"When I got up there for the first round of the Klash my crew chief, Mark Peiser, came up and said to me that he wanted me to put everything out of my mind. He was like, 'You're a three-time champ. You know how to do this. Stop thinking about what you've heard and stop listening to what other people say and just go out there and do what you know how to do.'
"By the time I got up to the starting line, the cloud cover was making it dark and a started thinking I better not red-light, and then I said to myself, 'There you go thinking about the negatives. So what if you lose this race? It won't be the end of the world.' And I just relaxed and did my thing. When I got down there and they said I had just run a 7.17 and was the No. 1 qualifier, I felt so relieved. It was like I'd won the race."
Fellow Klash semifinalist Shawn Gann was the other rider in the teens, having posted a 7.198 at 185.38 mph on his Mac Tools Suzuki to take second place on the U.S. Nationals ladder. Trim-Tex rider Scali ended up third on the qualifying grid with a 7.205 and took runner-up honors to Reggie Showers in the K&N Klash after red-lighting in the final. Last year's Klash winner, Craig Treble of Team Matco, finished the day in fourth place with a 7.210 at 183.44 mph.
Steve Johnson slipped into the 16-bike field in the final position after a second-round 7.332 at 181.52 mph. The K&N rider successfully held off 22 other hopefuls who attempted qualifying passes Saturday.
Independent rider Bruce Dickson was uninjured after coming off his bike near the end of his Round 2 pass. Dickson's motor expired during the run and sprayed oil over his rear tire. He managed to slow his Kawasaki to about 15 mph before it slipped out from under him. Pro Stock Bike results
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