The big news on Sunday of the 2nd annual Fram Route 66 Nationals was not necessarily who won, but rather who didn't win. The season-long win streak of the John Force team - six wins by Force and two by teammate Tony Pedregon - came to an end in a stunning final round at Route 66 Raceway outside of Chicago.
Tim Wilkerson, the homestate hero from Springfield, Ill., brought the fans to their feet with a dramatic final-round victory over Force himself.
Tim Wilkerson |
Wilkerson began his trek to the semifinals in the JCIT Firebird with a 5.06 to 5.13 first-round triumph over defending event champ Whit Bazemore's Kendall Camaro, then stepped way up with a 4.96 to trounce Cory Lee's in the Pioneer Avenger. Wilkerson then took an easy semifinal ride 5.041 win when Dean Skuza smoked the tires and smacked the guardwall.
Force looked invincible early with a solid 4.941victory over Scott Weis and a 4.95 conquest of Frank Pedregon. Randy Anderson, in his one-race employment with Joe Gibbs Racing, acquitted himself well, defeating Ron Capps and Del Worsham before falling to Force in the semi's, 5.003 to 5.006 292.84
The final was a wild one as both drivers smoked the tires with Wilkerson upsetting the eight-time champ, 5.97 to 7.35.
"John's been dominating the class all year, so for a Pontiac Firebird to beat him and to get my first win against him is pretty special," Wilkerson said. "We're going to celebrate this while we can. I don't think we're going to keep (Force) down for very long though."
"I saw him fade off and my car started to shudder right," said Wilkerson. "My car started hauling on down there and then it got out of the groove. Then it started smoking the tires. Fortunately I got it back in the groove and it started going straight. That's when I knew I had won the race."
Funny Car results
Mike Dunn |
Seasonlong Top Fuel points Dunn took his third win of the season but his first since March in Darrell Gwynn's dragster with a final-round victory over defending event champ Kenny Bernstein.
Dunn took his first-round win over David Grubnic with a marginal 4.91 after Grubnic's TFX gave up the ghost at 1,000 feet and slowed him to a 5.17 then improved to a 4.64 to down Larry Dixon's 4.83. That moved Dunn and the Ken Veney-tuned Mopar machine into a semifinal battle with Jim Head, the No. 16 qualifier who had No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta in round one and Doug Herbert in round two. Head's luck ran out as Dixon won a 5.53 to 6.04 tire-smoking duel to advance to the final round
Bernstein opened his trip to the finals with a close 4.69 to 4.76 victory over Cory McClenathan's MBNA dragster followed by a steady 4.69 after Randy Parks fouled in his Fluke dragster in round two. Bernstein then belted out a 4.75 in the semifinals to defeat Bob Vandergriff Jr., who lost traction at halftrack with the Jerzees machine
The final then went to Dunn with a 4.70 to turn back Bernstein's bid.
"This win means so much to this team," Dunn said. "We've been struggling a little bit during the last few races. This is a big lift and it puts us in great position heading into the long summer months. I'm looking forward to Columbus this weekend, I think we can do it again."
"We had our share of good luck and bad luck during this race," Dunn said. "We got lucky in the first round because we put out a cylinder against Dave Grubnic. Against Jim Head, we were fortunate to win a tire-smoking pedaling match. In the final, Veney just tuned the car for what he thought it could run in that lane and it worked. That just shows you what kind to tuner he is."
Top Fuel results
Warren Johnson won his fourth event of the season and the 76th of his career with a close final-round victory over Troy Coughlin, 6.98 to 7.11 after overcoming Coughlin's huge starting-line edge. Johnson had opened his day with a victory over the class' hottest driver, Richie Stevens, 6.98 to 7.02, then beat Troy's younger brother, Jeg Jr., 6.99 to 7.08, before trailering Jim Yates, 7.01 to 7.07.
"I don't think we had any kind of dominating performance this weekend but it was good enough to win," said Johnson, who had to oust three of his toughest rivals -- Richie Stevens, Jeg Coughlin and Jim Yates -- to reach the final. "If you do a decent job of driving the car and don't shoot yourself in the foot with the setup, you should at least be competitive."
Pro Stock results
Matt Hines |
Defending Winston and event Pro Stock Bike champ Matt Hines final broke a season-long jinx when he powered the Eagle-1/Vance & Hines Suzuki past Steve Johnson in the final round, 7.36 to 7.53. Johnson's loss ended a great run that included victories over both of 1999's event winners, points leader Angelle Seeling in round two and Antron Brown in the semifinals.
"This could be my most satisfying win ever," Hines said. "We've been working hard to get this new bike in order and it looks like it's finally coming around. Angelle has been dominating this season and for us to get a win here where she went out in an early round really helps us in the points. It feels really good to be back in the winner's circle."
Pro Stock Bike results
Bob Panella Jr., who on Saturday cashed in for a $20,00 victory in the special Holley Pro Stock Truck Dominator Duel, completed an incredible weekend by not only winning his first NHRA national event, defeating Dale Eaton, 7.676 to 7.86, but also collected a $10,000 bonus from NHRA for the double victory.
Panella's weekend payday was more than $40,000.
"This weekend has been a dream come true," said Panella, also the category's No. 1 qualifier. "It's been amazing, everything just fell into place for us as the weekend went along. The truck ran great and we had a great combination for this track."
Pro Stock Truck results
In Federal-Mogul Dragster, Michael Gunderson, who had run 5.59 in the semi's and was favored to win the final round, banged the blower on his final-round burnout to hand the win to Rob Wendland, who took the final-round bye with a 5.65.
Federal-Mogul Dragster results
Defending event champ John Lawson, who had breezed through Sunday's rounds with passes of 5.77 and 5.752, was favored to repeat his title when he faced Bob Newberry, who had run a pair of 5.80s, in the final round. Newberry was a late arrival to the starting line for the final and Lawson already had begun his burnout when Newberry wheeled into the water box. Lawson, the local hero from Joliet, graciously waited for Newberry to do his burnout, only to be defeated by the former Winston champ, who ran another 5.80 to Lawson's slowing 5.87.
Federal-Mogul Funny Car results
1998 Winston Finals Comp champ Larry Pritchett, the No. 2 qualifier in his D/SM Pontiac, scored his first win of 1999 and, in the process, denied Santo Volpe a win in his second straight final round. Pritchett's (-.50) 9.26 defeated Mopar Parts Nationals runner-up Volpe's A/SR '34 Chevy roadster time of (-.41) 8.21
Comp results
Mike Beachy piloted his GT/EA Pontiac to the Super Stock victory with a final-round conquest of Gene McBean's SS/GA entry, running a 9.95 on a 9,94 dial against McBean's 10.16 on a 10.14 target.
Super Stock results
Edmond Richardson won his 34th career victory when he piloted his I/SA Camaro to a final-round victory in Stock eliminator over Larry Hill's C/SA Mopar. Richardson's .553 to .592 starting-line advantage and a 12.32 on a 12.31 forced Hill to break out with a 10.92 on a 10.94 dial.
Stock results
Rod Fuller, winner of the Mopar Parts Nationals two weeks ago, made it two straight in Super Comp with an 8.92 to 8.91 final-round victory over Darwin Shriver, the difference being the .405 reaction time from Fuller's Valvoline machine.
Super Comp results
1996 Winston Super Gas champ John Vineyard showed that skill with a fine performance in Super Gas, topping the effort with a 10.00 to 9.97 final-round triumph over young Bryan Chaney by just a thousandth of a second.
Super Gas results
