MOTO1.NET NHRA NATIONALS
RICHMOND (April 27-30)
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6th annual |
| Sunday |
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Force, Coughlin, Daniels win again |
The sixth annual Moto1.net Nationals presented by Chevrolet at Virginia Motorsports Park will have to go down as the most exciting race of the season. From the opening lap to the smoke-filled finale, side-by-side racing was the order of the day and the overflowing crowd of drag racing fans never had cause to leave their seats.
The kings of the sport finally crowned a repeat winner this season when Miller Lite Top Fuel pro Larry Dixon made it back-to-back wins for his camp by edging Bud King Kenny Bernstein by one hundredth of a second. Nine-time series champ John Force gained some valuable ground on Team WWF by driving his Castrol mount into the Funny Car winner's circle in a spectacular burnout-like win over Ron Capps.
Pro Stock giant Jeg Coughlin made it five wins out of six races by defeating local favorite Jim Yates. Meanwhile, Pro Stock Trucker Randy Daniels returned to the victory podium for the third time in 2000.
"Make mine a Miller Lite," said Top Fuel winner Dixon, who downed Bud King Bernstein in a thrilling final round. Bernstein, who won two races ago in Las Vegas, got the early jump on the circuit's most recent winner Dixon with a .461-second start in front of Dixon's .469-second launch. But the suds were bubbling just right in the Miller Lite machine and Dixon was able to pass Bernstein and take the win by .01 seconds.
 Larry Dixon
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The timers showed Dixon covering the strip in 4.674 seconds at 314.53 mph, which nipped Bernstein's 4.692-second, 306.12-mph effort.
"What a win," said Dixon. "Let me tell you something, racing Bernstein in the finals, especially the way he's been running, is major-league pressure. It's the beer battle and I sure didn't want to call Milwaukee and tell them that I got smoked by the other beer car in the finals.
"We were so close that I could hear him all the way down the track. The body of my car comes up at the sides, so I couldn't see him but I knew he was right there. At about the three-quarter mark, I just started looking for the win-light bulb. We got it and I pulled the chutes and he went flying by. I thought, 'We must have been mighty close' and we were.
"This is our first win over him in the finals and the first time in my career that we've won two races in a row. It's awesome. Plus, the points are so tight now that if I had lost I'd be in fourth instead of second. It's that close."
The two beer rivals have now squared off 19 times over the years with Bernstein holding an 11-8 advantage.
Starting from the No. 4 position, Dixon got a bye run past a broken Jim Bailey in Round 1, and then streaked away from Doug Kalitta and Doug Herbert, who both went up in smoke. Bernstein beat Rit Pustari, points leader Tony Schumacher, and Gary Scelzi. Top Fuel results
The car's didn't run the way they're supposed to, but the most spectacular final-round race of the day came in the Funny Car finals when Force and Capps produced nothing but tire smoke from one end of the strip to the other. In the end, Force hit the finish line in 5.913 seconds at 236.01 mph before Capps' 6.165-second lap at 233.76 mph.
 John Force
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Even then, the win wasn't officially given to Force until track officials made sure the Castrol car didn't cross the centerline, which would have disqualified him.
"That just shows what luck can do," Force said. "The car was rattling me so hard in the seat that I lost my vision. When it came around all I could see was U.S. Tobacco Co. (Capp's sponsor.) I actually thought he lifted because I had crossed the centerline. But I didn't and it turns out he was just having the same trouble I was.
"This morning I read a story about (Don) Prudhomme and he said he retired because when it's over, you know that it's over. That really motivated me because I don't want it to be over.
"Most of it is mental, but we did gain some ground on (Jerry) Toliver's team today. We're gonna stay after those guys. They better get ready for Atlanta because we're going to continue to prove what we can do."
Force's win over Capps in the finals put a damper on team owner Don "the Snake" Prudhomme's otherwise perfect day. Prudhomme was hoping to double-up with a Capps and Dixon both winning on the same day for just the second time ever.
Bob Gilbertson, Al Hofmann, and Scotty Cannon were Force's early victims. Capps made light work of Gary Densham, Jim Epler, and Jerry Toliver. Funny Car results
With today's win in Pro Stock, Coughlin becomes the first driver in 20 years to win five of the first six races of the year. The late Lee Shepherd of the Reher-Morrison racing stable last accomplished the feat in 1980.
 Jeg Coughlin
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Coughlin, who now leads nearest pursuer Warren Johnson by a staggering 211 points in the Winston championship standings, simply crushed the competition here in Virginia. His winning 6.861-second pass at 199.73 mph against Virginia native Yates in the final was his closest match of the day, and Yates still lost by .060 of a second with a 6.904 at 199.73 mph.
"Any time you're held up to guys like Lee Shepherd or Bob Glidden you know that's about as good as it gets," Coughlin said. "Hopefully, we can win championships like both of those guys did.
"Team Jegs is just so stout right now plus we haven't been hurt by any bad luck. We've been fortunate to make all the right calls and I've been driving well. It's pretty spectacular to have such a huge lead already but there's still plenty of racing to do."
Team Jegs powered by Scott Geoffrion, Bruce Allen, and Kurt Johnson before eliminating Yates. Winless since last August in Sonoma, Calif., Yates, of Alexandria, Va., beat Robert Patrick, his own son Jamie, and Richie "The Kid" Stevens before settling for runner-up honors. Pro Stock results
If you like your racing close, you had to go no further than the Pro Stock Truck final race, which was won by Daniels by .003 of a second. Daniels gave up .003-second to Mike Coughlin at the light but passed him and won by the same margin. The final scorecard showed Daniels posting a 7.497 at 179.90 mph in front of Mike Coughlin's 7.503 at 179.37 mph.
 Randy Daniels
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"That was too close," Daniels said. "He was a little bit ahead for a second but then we caught up and I was thinking that if we got the lead, we'd win the race. But he made a little move on us in the middle of the track and it seemed like we crossed at about the same time.
"I'm starting to get used to this Winner's Circle deal. The Bailey Trucking Chevy S-10 is running so strong and the team is doing a great job. Pomona is erased from our minds."
Daniels, who failed to qualify at the season opener in Pomona, Calif., has now raced through to four final rounds in a row, taking three wins. He has closed to within 29 points of Winston leader Bob Panella Jr., who set a new national record and picked up an extra 20 points this weekend.
After three DNQs in a row, just qualifying for this event would have to be considered a victory for Mike Coughlin, so tabbing a runner-up finish must be especially gratifying for the entire Jeg's Mail Order crew.
The Bailey Trucking stable of Daniels had to get by Lou Ficco, Larry Seay, and John Coughlin to get to the finals. Mike Coughlin bettered Rick Jones, Steve Johns, and Panella. Pro Stock Truck results
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