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With only five weekends of racing and seven events left (three national, four divisional) on the 2001 calendar, the focus has shifted to the points battles in each of the 12 NHRA classes. Only one title has been awarded - Frank Manzo's in Federal-Mogul Funny Car. Among the other classes, some have a clear favorite and others are still a wide-open affair. Following is a breakdown of each class and who the contenders are; points and standings are through the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals presented by Greased Lightning, Oct. 4-7 in Reading.

Federal-Mogul Dragster
By scoring the Federal-Mogul Dragster crown in Reading, Mark Hentges not only stopped Rick Santos from clinching the championship, but positioned himself on top of the class standings and eliminated Jay Meyer from contention. Santos can overtake Hentges and earn his fifth championship with a victory at one of his final two national events or with a pair of divisional triumphs to close the season. All Hentges can do the remainder of the season is attempt to block Santos, as he reached his maximum allowable events.

Federal-Mogul Funny Car
With his victory at the inaugural NHRA Nationals, Frank Manzo clinched his fifth straight and seventh overall Federal-Mogul Funny Car championship. He made it a perfect 10 wins across his ledger when he scored the rain-delayed Division 1 event crown and the Reading national event title on the same weekend.

Comp
With his victory in Chicago, Mike Saye assumed the Comp points lead and can lock the title up with victories at his final two events. He can improve upon third-round national and runner-up divisional finishes. Tom Snyder, who sits 127 points out, has lots of room to improve his total, but needs at least a pair of victories and a semifinal finish or better to have a chance.

Saye's closest competitors are Don Stratton and two-time Federal-Mogul champion Andy Manna Jr. Stratton, who trails by 49 points, can improve on a third round on the national side and a fourth on the divisional level. Manna has three events to better: a runner-up, a third round, and a fourth round. Reigning Comp champ Jerry Arnold can make up his 105-point deficit with at least two victories at his final four events. Also in contention are Jeff Lane, Scott Benham, Bill Kent, Brian Hyerstay, and Charlie Stewart.

Super Stock
Dan Fletcher and Peter Biondo have basically dominated the national scene in Super Stock with a combined seven victories, yet the class championship is still undecided. Fletcher, with a perfect national score, leads the chase and has two divisional chances to improve a second- and third-round finish. Biondo is done earning points.

Jeff Miller has done most of his damage on the divisional level, scoring three victories. The Division 4 runner can better a second round nationally and a third round divisionally to help close his 47-point gap. Two-time class champion Jimmy DeFrank is lurking in the wings. Though he is 114 points out, DeFrank can improve upon a pair of second rounds and a first.

Randall Klein has three nationals to try to pick up 120 points, while Mike Trumble Jr. can benefit from four events to eliminate his 132-point deficit. Terry Emmons, Kenneth Morris, James Harrington, and Michael Mans have outside chances of catching Fletcher.

Stock
The Stock battle has boiled down to a four-driver race. Jody Lang is in the lead with 645 points, but has completed his allotted points events. Jeff Hefler has the most room to improve and sits only six points out. Much of his work will be done on the divisional side as he tries to best second- and third-round finishes. Kevin Helms' perfect national mark has him 16 points behind; he can better the same package as Hefler. Mark Dickerson trails the leader by 67 points and holds the same finishing situation as Hefler and Helms.

The likes of 2001 winners Scott Welborn, who must win his final two events, and Ken Etter, who still can better four events, sit in the distance. Steven Hall, Joe DeMarzo, Bob Letellier, Jeff Strickland, Greg Rowe, Lee Zane, and Richard Hoerth all have longshot odds of capturing the season title.

Super Comp
Rodney Costlow has been in the lead position since the halfway point of the season with 598 points. Though he has not raced since the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals, Costlow still finds himself on top and has four races to better. Nationally, he will be gunning to erase a pair of fourth rounds; divisionally, he has a set of third rounds to better.

A total of 14 drivers still have a chance of knocking Costlow off his perch. Ron Erks will take his final shot at the Division 3 event at Indianapolis Raceway Park, where he hopes to improve upon a second round. In recent weeks, Billy Maddox has thrust himself into the points chase with a Division 5 victory. He now will try to improve on two fourth rounds on the national level and two third rounds on the division side. Scotty Richardson is the dark horse of the top 10 - he still has two nationals to better, but, more importantly, he also has first- and second-round finishes on his divisional log to improve upon.

Bryan Sorce, Sherman Adcock, Dick Vander Meer, and Keith Downing must run the table to have a chance. Len King, Frank Kohutek, and Rick Beckstrom are within 100 points, and Michael Miller, Rob Slavinski, Shane Carr, and Thomas Hunter need to go late rounds at a pair of events to strengthen their cause.

Super Gas
With his victory in Reading, Ed Alessi Jr. jumped into the points lead. His 577 points are the lowest total for any of the current leaders. Alessi can still help his cause by cleaning up a fourth round nationally and a second round divisionally.

Though Alessi sits atop the 9.90 class, it is a precarious spot - 23 drivers still have a legitimate shot of displacing him. Scotty Richardson might be in the best position. He sits five points out, tied with Gary Stinnett, but has a pair of second rounds on the divisional side to better. Stinnett has a single divisional shot to best a third round. Ed DeStaute, who led the class for much of the season, can claim one more divisional and will try to better a second-round result.

Tom Stalba, Jed Bourquin, Todd Heins, and Clark Mundt all are positioned less than 65 points off the lead and each has a chance to make a run. The top 30 is separated by 143 points, and those to watch beyond the top 10 include reigning Federal-Mogul Super Comp champ Ed Richardson, Greg Carrillo, Michael Miller, Tim Gillespie, and Frank Kohutek. All have multiple events they can improve upon.