U.S. NATIONALS
INDIANAPOLIS
(Aug. 30-Sept. 4)
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46th annual |
| Monday |
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Brown doubles up, Coughlin cashes in |
They call it "the magic of Indy," and the 46th annual U.S. Nationals provided it by the bucketful. How else do two No. 16 and one No. 15 qualifier make it to the final rounds of the biggest and most prestigious race of the year? How else does four days of scorching heat and humidity turn into a cool and pleasant Monday eliminations day? How does the rain that threatened all day hold off until just minutes after the Top Fuel final before falling on the winners as they celebrated in the Indianapolis Raceway Park winner's circle?
Reigning Winston Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher regained the points lead from Gary Scelzi when he marched his new U.S. Army-backed dragster past No. 15 qualifier Gary Clapshaw, whose only other NHRA win came in a Funny Car five years ago in Memphis. Jim Epler, denied in the final round here last year and on Sunday in the Budweiser Shootout final, scored his forth career win, turning back the longshot bid of No. 15 qualifier Whit Bazemore, the '97 Indy winner. Jeg Coughlin Jr., winless since an early-season skein, came from the No. 16 spot to win Pro Stock while Antron Brown, arguably the event's biggest winner, doubled up his Saturday Holley Dominator Duel victory with a big win with his third title of the year and Mike Coughlin cashed in with a Pro Stock Truck win.
Top Fuel's Schumacher welcomed the U.S. Army back to the NHRA in grand style, handing the gathered throng of military brass a cherished U.S. Nationals trophy. Schumacher was unstoppable in "The Sarge," as his new dragster is called, extinguishing the dream of Gary Clapshaw at the starting line when Clapshaw drew a final round red-light.
 Tony Schumacher
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Riding a streak of back-to-back wins, Schumacher would have been tough to beat any way, screaming down the strip in 4.644 seconds at 316.90 mph, while the fans roared their approval.
"Unbelievable," a buzzing Schumacher said. "To put this deal together in three weeks, assemble a team, hire a driver, buy a transporter, and hire a whole crew and then turn around and win is just flat-out unbelievable.
"This was an intense win. My guys were sleeping between rounds for five, 10 minutes because they were so exhausted. Not only were they working on my car but Melanie (Troxel) went three rounds also so everyone was beating on these things to get them ready. They built me an incredible racecar and I was just along for the ride.
"Last year we left here with the lead and there were 10 guys that could have won the championship. It's not as crowded this year but we still have a long way to go. Seven races could make a big difference. But we're running strong and I think we have the best team out there. We have the U.S. Army and all their technology behind us."
Schumacher entered this event 24 points behind Gary Scelzi in the Winston championship standings. His win, coupled with Scelzi's first-round ouster, lifted him to the top spot by 69 points. It was at this same event last season that Schumacher took the lead in the points race. He went on to win the championship.
The reigning champ had to march past top-10 point earners Doug Herbert, Larry, Dixon, and Kenny Bernstein before meeting up with Clapshaw in the finals. Clapshaw rode the luck of his Spirit of Las Vegas machine out of the No. 15 starting point and past noted drivers Cory McClenathan, Joe Amato, and Melanie Troxel to reach the first final round of his Top Fuel career. Top Fuel results
It was almost the perfect weekend for Epler but ,all things considered, it would be impossible to get a complaint out of the veteran driver. Epler soothed the burn of losing in the final round of Sunday's Budweiser Shootout by taking the fourth, and most important, win of his career in today's final round.
 Jim Epler
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Epler, who won earlier this year in Las Vegas, took a fairly easy win in his final-round race against Denver winner Whit Bazemore. Epler recorded a near-perfect 5.017-second, 285.14-mph lap while Bazemore struggled to maintain traction and limped through in 5.968 seconds at 197.19 mph.
I've always dreamed of winning in Indy," said Epler, who began his career in 1993. "Especially after yesterday when I got so close. But winning today is even better because the points are on the line and it's a national event win. This is such a huge career builder for me.
"With (Jerry) Toliver's team and the support we get from the WWF, we expect to win every race. But I have to admit it's especially great to get one here. I know the WWF will make the most out of it. They show so much NHRA coverage on their TV shows, and I'm sure they'll play this up to the fullest."
Widely known as the first Funny Car driver to eclipse the 300-mph barrier, Epler drove his WWF Racing Kane-themed Camaro by Scotty Cannon, Shootout winner John Force, and Ron Capps before lining up against Bazemore.
Driving for Kendall Oil and Matco Tools, Bazemore earned his way to the final round. Despite starting at the bottom of the qualifying ladder he beat No. 1 qualifier Tommy Johnson Jr., Tim Wilkerson, and former series champ Cruz Pedregon to get to Epler. Funny Car results
After an eight-race break, Pro Stock points leader Coughlin finally returned to form at the biggest race of the year and found his way back to the winner's circle. Coughlin's seventh win of the season came at the expense of two-time national event winner Ron Krisher.
 Jeg Coughlin
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The Pro Stock final was arguably the best race of the weekend. Coughlin recorded a cosmic .414-second light to Krisher's respectable .459-second start and then held off the hard-charging third-year driver to win by four thousandths of a second. The numbers had Coughlin crossing in 6.968 seconds at 196.96 mph in front of Krisher's superior 6.927-second lap at 197.59 mph.
"NHRA Winston Drag Racing at Indianapolis Raceway Park; it doesn't get any better than this," Coughlin said. "I've won a few races, but I can tell you there is nothing sweeter than this. We were on such a hot streak earlier this year and now we're back running strong again. There were some naysayers out there who doubted our start. Now they'll have to rethink that idea.
"The championship battle is far from over in my estimation. We're certainly not finished. I'd like to put a few more wins in the book before we're done and we're not going to let up one bit."
Coughlin had an interesting and compelling trip to his ninth final round of the year. After struggling through all five qualifying sessions and barely sneaking into the field in the 16th and final position, he came to life today and drove his Jeg's Mail Order Cutlass past top qualifier Mark Osborne, upstart Allen Johnson, and Columbus winner Mark Pawuk.
Eagle One's Krisher had to defeat some of the best drivers in the class just to get a shot at the No. 1 guy. He opened against Jim Yates, squared off against Richie "The Kid" Stevens in the quarterfinals, and Kurt Johnson, who has won three of the last four races, in the semifinals. Pro Stock results
The hottest driver on the circuit in the Pro Stock Bike class continues to be Anythingovernight.com-sponsored rider Brown, who won his second race in as many events and third title of the year by blasting past fill-in driver John Smith. Brown's win was his second of the weekend, including the Holley Dominator Duel, and he earned an extra $10,000 from the NHRA for doubling up.
 Antron Brown
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The race against Smith put an exclamation point on Brown's dominance this weekend. The two left the starting line side-by-side but Brown easily outpowered his rival and cruised through the lights in 7.268 seconds at 181.03 mph ahead of Smith's 7.354-second, 181.45-mph pass.
"To double up and bring that cash to this team is huge," an excited Brown said. "Whew, it's hard to take this all in right now. I know one thing for sure -- this is the highlight of my career. My hat's off to everyone on my awesome, awesome team.
"I always have my own zone. I do exactly the same thing every round no matter who is in the other lane. I try to stay strong in my mind because drag racing is all about keeping your mental psyche together. I had it down today."
Smith competed on the Sunoco Hayabusa of legendary drag racer Dave Schultz, who is sidelined while he recovers from treatment for colon cancer. Smith represented Schultz in grand style by beating Joe DeSantis, Tony Mullen, and points leader Angelle Seeling to get to the finals.
Starting from the No. 2 position, Brown outran the competition on this day with wins over Ron Ayers, Craig Treble, and three-time champ Matt Hines. The win over Hines came by just six thousandths of a second.
The points battle between Seeling and Hines stayed almost the same due to the fact that both drivers lost in the semifinals. Seeling entered the race with a 99-point lead and now enjoys a 101-point advantage with four races left to be contested. Pro Stock Bike results
He didn't show that he had the fastest Pro Stock Truck at this event until today but current points leader Panella turned his program up a notch when it mattered the most and rode his track-record-setting Panella Trucking Chevy S-10 to his fourth win of the season.
 Bob Panella
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Starting from the No. 9 spot, Panella overcame a big starting line advantage by his final round opponent John Coughlin -- .440 to .486 -- and caught and passed him to take a 7.535-second, 176.86-mph win. Coughlin held off Panella as long as possible, but his 7.622 at 176.63 mph wasn't quite enough to earn him the win.
"I wish I knew what my problem was in qualifying," Panella said. "I know the whole field didn't catch up to me in a month. I think I was just underestimating the track until today. I had a mental block earlier this year but now I've realized I just have to go for the throat every round. People line up against me with nothing to lose and I have to be ready for anything.
"It's very satisfying to win here. It's such a huge race for all of us. More importantly, I needed to win for the points. I don't like the way I gained on Randy (Daniels) today but that's the way it turned out. I've never had a cushion like I have now."
The win extended Panella's points lead over rival Randy Daniels from 53 to 129 points with four events left on the Pro Stock Truck schedule. Daniels' Bailey Trucking rig suffered a mechanical failure in the opening round and he lost to Todd Patterson.
Panella's trip to his second the final round of the U.S. Nationals was impressive. The 1998 runner-up opened with a 7.60-second win over Greg Stanfield, posted a track-record 7.563 against defending event champ Mike Coughlin, and had a 7.577 against Steve Johns. Representing his family's Jeg's Mail Order business, Coughlin's journey to Indy's final round featured wins over Steve Farr, Don Smith, and Larry Seay. Pro Stock Truck results
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