News and notes from Sunday at the 40th annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals from Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown. Compiled by the NHRA.com and National DRAGSTER staffs.
SUNDAY (Previous: Friday I Saturday)
Last update: 5:28 p.m. Eastern (Click to latest item)
Well, it's a gray, gloomy start to race day in Englishtown, and I'm not just talking about our moods when we woke up to wet pavement outside and a thick, cloudy sky (insert rimshot here). The heavy rains that ended things early yesterday continued last night, but right now, the good news is that no rain is falling. The sky is filled with clouds, and temps are on the cooler side. If you believe the local weather forecasters, we should be okay today with the bad weather expected to clear out and maybe even some sun later. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
The stage is set up right now for pre-race ceremonies, emcee Bob Frey is making his way toward it, so we are just about ready to begin pre-race activities.
Follow along: Low qualifiers after each Pro session can be found on NHRA's Twitter page, http://twitter.com/NHRA. You can sign up to have these text-message-sized reports sent directly to your mobile device or read them online. Reports are posted minutes after each session is complete.
TV times: Today, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, the 30-minute pre-race show, at noon ET and three hours of eliminations at 10 p.m. ET.
10 a.m. update: Pre-race ceremonies are under way. The Safety Safari is on the track, prepping it for the opening round of Top Fuel, which begins at 11 a.m.
Ford's Brett Wheatley, left, and Darryl B. Hazel, right, with Bob Tasca III
|
Special guests: Racing at his home track, Bob Tasca III has a large cheering section in Englishtown this weekend, and that includes some big-time support from Ford. Darryl B. Hazel, the senior vice president of Ford Motor Co. and president of the Ford Customer Service Division, and Brett Wheatley, director of marketing of Ford Customer Service Division, were at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park this weekend cheering on Tasca. “It was my pleasure to come to the Englishtown race,” said Hazel. “The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team and NHRA are a perfect fit for Ford Motor Co. Our customers, dealers, and distributors are here, and we really believe that the Motorcraft and Quick Lane names are enhanced by the association with Tasca Racing and the NHRA.”
10:45 a.m. update: The drivers in all four Pro classes have been introduced, and the first Top Fuelers have pulled into the staging lanes. Right now, Bob Frey is wrapping up pre-race ceremonies, and the usual parade of crew chiefs and crewmembers down the dragstrip is going on as everyone prepares for opening round. Skies are still gray and gloomy. Earlier there was a light mist, but things seem to be all right right now.
We're racing: The first pair of Top Fuelers, Clay Millican and Doug Kalitta, who is carrying a remembrance of cousin Scott Kalitta on his car, have fired the engines, and we are ready to get racing.
Rain delay: Just as we fired the final pair of Top Fuelers, the rain started, so we are now in a hold pattern due to wet weather.
We're back: Fortunately, that was a very short delay. The final pair of Top Fuelers, Shawn Langdon and Terry McMillen, are on the track.
Top Fuel, round one: The cooler air and track temperatures created ideal conditions for the opening round of eliminations, and the Top Fuel crew chiefs took full advantage with nearly every competitor posting his quickest times of the weekend. Tony Schumacher was the star with a 3.816 on his solo run. He’ll pick his lane against Clay Millican in round two. Other second-round pairings (lane choice bold): Morgan Lucas vs. Antron Brown, Larry Dixon vs. Brandon Bernstein, Cory McClenathan vs. Shawn Langdon.
We're on hold: The action has temporarily stopped after rookie Matt Hagan oiled down the track on his run in the opening pair of Funny Cars. Hagan's run was doomed from the start with cylinders dropping at the hit, and when he got about halfway through his 1,000-foot run, the engine let go and caught fire. Hagan was uninjured in the engine explosion, but he did leave stuff on the track. "Our pride's a little hurt right now," said Hagan from the top end. "It looks like it may have pushed a head gasket out, but we won't know for sure until we get back to the pits. I knew it wasn't acting quite right, but I couldn't see Del [Worsham] over there, so I made the call to just decide to try and leg it on out."
And ... we're back: The Safety Safari did a wonderful job as usual, and we're back racing again. Robert Hight and John Force are the next pair, followed by Ashley Force Hood and Jack Beckman.
Funny Car, round one: After two tough pairs in which a 4.659 and 4.370 were the winning times, the Funny Cars put on quite a show with three matches decided by eight-thousandths or less. The best race of the entire round was that of Bob Tasca III and Jeff Arend, which was decided by .0004-second in favor of Tasca. Mike Neff was low of the round with a weekend-best 4.051. Ashley Force Hood was next best with a 4.067 that gave her a scant .008 victory over Jack Beckman. The best news of all, though, was about midway through the round, the sun started peeking out, and there are patches of blue sky.
Second-round pairings (lane choice bold): Force Hood vs. Cruz Pedregon, John Force vs. Tasca, Neff vs. Tim Wilkerson, and Tony Pedregon vs. Del Worsham.
Pro Stock, round one: Racing under sunny conditions (yeah!), the Pro Stockers continued the awesome performances with 6.5s aplenty in the opening round. In no big surprise, Mike Edwards paced everyone with a 6.555, the best time of the weekend, as he easily dispatched Rodger Brogdon. Other winning times included a pair of 6.57s, a pair of 6.58s, and a 6.59. Second-round pairings (lane choice bold): Ron Krisher vs. Jeg Coughlin, Kurt Johnson vs. Allen Johnson, Edwards vs. Greg Stanfield, and Greg Anderson vs. Warren Johnson.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, round one: Six-second passes may have been rare in qualifying, but they were the norm in round one with six of the eight winners dipping in the sixes. Matt Smith, who up to this point was having an off weekend (he was a bottom-half qualifier), was the star of the six-second show with a 6.907. Matt Guidera was next best at 6.916, and in a can't-a-guy-get-a-break twist, the two flyin' Matts will meet in round two with Smith choosing his lane. Other second-round matches (lane choice bold) are: Bailey Whitaker vs. Doug Horne, Eddie Krawiec vs.Andrew Hines, and Craig Treble vs. Karen Stoffer.
Top Fuel, round two: With the track temperature now over 100 degrees, things slowed down from the first round, but the racing was still phenomenal. We opened with a pedalfest that went to Antron Brown over Morgan Lucas, then we had a bunch of three-second runs. Larry Dixon was quickest with a 3.851, and he will select his lane in the semi's against Shawn Langdon, who won his second-round match with Cory McClenathan on a 3.894 to 3.881 holeshot. Tony Schumacher will decide which side of the track to run on when he faces Brown in the other pairing. Schumacher is just 14 points behind Brown in points, so that match will be a race for the lead.
Funny Car, round two: The formula to win in round two of Funny Car? Run a 4.1. All four winners (and one of the losers) ran a teen during the quarters. Tony Pedregon was the best of the bunch with a 4.132. He joins a trio of Ford drivers -- Ashley Force Hood, Bob Tasca III, and Tim Wilkerson -- in the semi's. Force Hood, who ran a 4.140, has lane choice over Tasca (4.166), and Pedregon has lane choice over Wilkerson (4.196). Wilkerson won his second-round pairing on a holeshot as opponent Mike Neff ran a quicker 4.167, and it was a big round-win for "Wilk" because it moved him past Jack Beckman for fifth in points.
Pro Stock, round two: Mike Edwards continues to crush 'em in the factory hot rods. Edwards ran a 6.572 on his way to victory over Greg Stanfield, and that was nearly three-hundredths better than every other winner. Allen Johnson was second best with a 6.601. In the semi's, Edwards will choose his lane against Greg Anderson, and Johnson has lane choice against Allen Johnson.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, round two: Another interesting round in the two-wheel class, and it got started with a stunner when rookie-of-the-year contender Doug Horne red-lighted, giving the win to Bailey Whitaker. Whitaker, another newcomer to the class, had just earned his first round-win in the opening round, and now he's semifinal bound. Whitaker takes on reigning champ and local favorite Eddie Krawiec, who ran a 6.994 and has lane choice. On the other side of the ladder, Matt Smith ran a 6.952 to beat Matt Guidera's 6.948, which was low of the round. Smith, who moved around Andrew Hines for second in points with the round-win, has lane choice over Craig Treble.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, semi's: The hometown favorite and the guy carrying local sponsorshiip this weekend will square off in the final round. Former Old Bridge track manager Eddie Krawiec advanced to his fourth straight final round when he defeaed Bailey Whitaker in the semi's, 6.95 to 7.19. Krawiec will have lane choice over Craig Treble, who defeated Matt Smith on a holeshot in the semi's. Smith ran low e.t. of the weekend, 6.904, but his .104 light doomed him. Treble had a .033 and turned on the win light with a 6.96. The win moved Treble up to fourth in points.
Pro Stock, semi's: We've got a little deja vu here as Jeg Coughlin and Mike Edwards will square off for a second straight week in the final round. As was the case last week, Edwards clearly has the car to beat with 6.5s all day, including a 6.57 in the semi's to defeat Greg Anderson. Edwards has lane choice over "Jeggie," who clocked a 6.62 to defeat Allen Johnson, who had troubles and slowed to a 7.54.
Top Fuel, semi's: All eyes were on Top Fuel in the semi's as Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher squared off for a spot in the final round and the points lead. Brown was the big winner and will keep his points lead. Brown will face Larry Dixon in the final round, and he earned lane choice by .006-second, 3.878 to 3.883.
Funny Car, semi's: Thought the Antron Brown-Tony Schumacher match in the Top Fuel semi's was big? How about the Funny Car final ... Ashley Force Hood and Tony Pedregon both won their semifinal pairings and moved to the final round. In the process, the pair, which are currently tied in points, moved around Ron Capps in points. That means whoever wins the final takes sole possession of first in points. T-Ped has lane choice thanks to his 4.132 against Tim Wilkerson. Force Hood ran a 4.153 in her match against Bob Tasca III.
Wild ride: Things are temporarily on hold after Marty Nothstein took a wild ride following his 250-mph run in the second round of Top Alcohol Funny Car. Nothstein's parachutes failed to properly deploy on his flopper, and that sent the former Olympic gold medalist into the sand. Nothstein's car went to the net, then rolled over once before stopping upright again. Nothstein climbed out of the car on his own, uninjured but clearly upset about the happenings. The Safety Safari was right on the scene, and they are now working on getting Nothstein's ride out of the beach and making sure the net and everything on the top end are in working order.
We're back, and then we're on hold again: Well, we got back to racing, and then in the next pair of TAFCs, another one goes into the sand. Alexis DeJoria made a trip to the beach after it appeared the parachutes came off her car. DeJoria is A-OK, but her car is not. She won the round, but the car is totaled (the front is totally bent up toward the windshield), and she won't be back for the semi's.
Update: The Safety Safari is still working on the sandtrap and nets, and the estimate now is that we will be back and running in another 15 to 20 minutes. The Pro final rounds will be first on the track when action resumes.
Pro Stock Motorcycle final is on the track.
SATURDAY
Day three of the United Association NHRA SuperNationals has begun. Super Stock is on track, running the opening round of eliminations. Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car will follow with their second qualifying session. Pro qualifying begins at noon with the final session slated for 3 p.m.
Skies are sunny with a few clouds overhead, but at this point, nothing threatening. There is a chance of showers in the forecast, but if you believe the local weather guys, the showers should be few and far between today.
Follow along: Low qualifiers after each Pro session can be found on NHRA's Twitter page, http://twitter.com/NHRA. You can sign up to have these text-message-sized reports sent directly to your mobile device or read them online. Reports are posted minutes after each session is complete.
TV times: On Saturday, June 13, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise one hour of qualifying highlights at 7 p.m. ET. On Sunday, June 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, the 30-minute pre-race show, at noon ET and three hours of eliminations at 10 p.m. ET.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, session three: Hector Arana is the new leader in the two-wheel class, riding his Lucas Oil mount to a 6.965. "Oh man, a .96, that was awesome," said Arana. "Then all I could do was watch the rest of the guys because there were guys behind me that can run fast, but they obviously just missed the setup. It’s about time that I’m No. 1. I think that will hold." Arana isn't alone in the sixes; Chicago champ Matt Guidera also dipped below the seven-second mark with a 6.985 that places him second heading into this afternoon's final qualifying run. Friday leader Craig Treble was bumped down to third after he was unable to improve on his 7.008 from yesterday. Eddie Krawiec bettered his Friday runs, posting a 7.011 that gives him No. 4. Krawiec's teammate, Andrew Hines, is fifth with a 7.012. Karen Stoffer, Michael Phillips, and Steve Johnson round out the top half of the field. Bailey Whitaker is in the 16th spot with a 7.187.
Pro Stock, session three: In one of the bigger surprises of qualifying as of late, Ron Krisher is leading Pro Stock after three sessions. Krisher paced the field with a 6.583 that edged out the 6.598 of Mike Edwards, who said his team "didn't make a very good run" during a top-end interview following his pass. Greg Anderson jumped to the No. 3 spot with a 6.600, and Kurt Johnson is fourth with a 6.605. Friday leader Allen Johnson was moved down to fifth; he matched the 6.607 he posted Friday night. Warren Johnson, Greg Stanfield, and Jeg Coughlin round out the quick eight. V. Gaines is on the bump with a 6.667.
Top Fuel, session three: No change at the top of the Top Fuel sheets with Tony Schumacher, who smoked the tires on his run, remaining No. 1. Larry Dixon and Cory McClenathan also had troubles on their run but remain second and third on the strength of their Friday-night showings. Teammates Morgan Lucas and Shawn Langdon were the stars of the session, posting the only three-second runs. Langdon was tops with a 3.882 that moved him two spots up on the ladder, to sixth. Lucas posted a 3.94, but that did not better his 3.858 from Friday, and he stays fourth. Antron Brown sits between the Lucas Racing teammates, in fifth. Brandon Bernstein and Clay Millican are seventh and eighth, respectively.
Funny Car, session three: No one came remotely close to unseating Ashley Force Hood (4.071) from the top spot. Tony Pedregon was the best of the session with a 4.144 that nearly matched the 4.142 he posted Friday for the third spot. Mike Neff, who was second-quickest in the third session with a 4.189, remains second. Robert Hight, Bob Tasca III, Del Worsham, Tim Wilkerson, and Jim Head round out the top half of the field.
Rain delay: Things are in a hold pattern in Englishtown, where rain is falling. It's not a real heavy rain, but any will stop things, of course. We were midway through the opening round of Comp when the wet weather hit.
Amazing Pro Mod session: Before the rains hit, the Pro Mod racers took advantage of the cooler conditions that preceded the storm, putting on quite a show for the Englishtown fans. Raymond Commisso highlighted the session, posting the second 5.8-second pass in Pro Mod history during the second round of qualifying for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx exhibition. Commisso's 5.894 in the final pairing of the session has been bettered only by his own 5.884 from the Houston event earlier this season; no other driver has ever dipped below 5.9 seconds. The pass was also half of the quickest side-by-side race in Pro Mod history, with Joe Baker recording a 5.911 in the other lane. Earlier in the session, former Pro Stock national event winner Rickie Smith ran the quickest pass ever by a nitrous-oxide-powered car, stopping the clocks in 5.951 seconds.
Weather update: The rain has pretty much stopped in E-town, and the NHRA Safety Safari is out on the track beginning the track-drying process. No word on an estimated start time. Comp was just called back to the lanes, though.
4 p.m. update: Bad news. It appears the rain has returned because track drying has stopped and umbrellas are up in the stands. The Comp cars are back in the lanes with car covers on them.
4:50 p.m. update: No good news to report from E-town. The lighter showers have given way to a heavy, steady rain that has soaked the racetrack. One Safety Safari truck remains parked on the top end, but right now, all they can do is sit and wait things out. The plan is to try to wait out the weather and get the second session in, but truthfully, it does not look very promising at this point.
5 p.m. update: Well, it is official ... we are done for today. A combination of rain and a cooling track made it impossible to continue. Activities will begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow.
FRIDAY
3:10 p.m.: Welcome to day two of the 40th annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown. After some showers this morning that delayed Sportsman action, the skies are mostly sunny with some clouds overhead. The Pro Stock Motorcycles are on the track for their first qualifying session of the weekend. Pro Stock cars follow, then it's the two nitro classes. The second session of the day is slated to begin at 6 p.m.
Follow along: Low qualifiers after each Pro session can be found on NHRA's Twitter page, http://twitter.com/NHRA. You can sign up to have these text-message-sized reports sent directly to your mobile device or read them online. Reports are posted minutes after each session is complete.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, session one: Reigning world champ Eddie Krawiec is the early leader at the track where he was once a manager. Krawiec clocked a 7.042 to pace the field by three-hundredths heading into the second session later today. Karen Stoffer continued her strong qualifying runs with a 7.072 for the provisional No. 2 spot. Craig Treble is third, followed by Matt Smith, Matt Guidera, and Chicago No. 1 qualifier Doug Horne.
Pro Stock, session one: No big surprise in Pro Stock ... Mike Edwards is numero uno. Edwards ran a 6.610 to lead the pack early. Ron Krisher and Allen Johnson were next best, with both putting 6.639s on the boards; Krisher won the speed tiebreaker for the higher spot. Greg Anderson is fourth at 6.642. One of the big surprises of the first session was Jason Line not making a full pull, running a sluggish 7.046 that will put him at or near the front of things in tonight's second session.
Emotional start to nitro session: Jeff Arend was the first Funny Car driver to take to the track in today's first qualifying session, getting everything off to a very emotional start. Prior to Arend's run in the Funny Car that is still emblazoned with the name Scott on the side in honor of Scott Kalitta, a video tribute to the former Top Fuel world champ was aired on the ACDelco Vision big screen. A large contingent of supporters were on the line for the tribute and run, including, of course, Scott's dad, Connie, the Oberhofers, Hillary Will, and NHRA's Tom Compton, Graham Light, and Jerry Archambeault, among others. The run didn't quite go according to plan, with Arend's car striking the tires immediately. "Obviously, we miss Scott a lot," said Arend after the pass. "We would have liked to have run better on that run, but we will this weekend."
Funny Car, session one: The floppers also have a familiar face at the front of the pack after one. Ashley Force Hood, who qualified No. 1 at three of the last five events, has again parked her Mustang in the No. 1 spot for now. Force Hood's 4.259 was one of two full passes in the session, which was run under sunny skies and featured 110-degree track temps that proved to be a tuning nightmare for the crew chiefs. Del Worsham, who ran side by side with Force Hood, was the other driver to get all the way to the 1,000-foot timer fully under power. Worsham clocked a 4.279 for the No. 2 position. Performances drop off from there with Ron Capps' 4.418 placing him third and Tony Pedregon's 4.432 giving him the fourth spot.
Top Fuel, session one: The Top Fuel teams got a better handle on the hot-weather E-town tune-up with many nice-looking full passes. Tony Schumacher was the best of the bunch with a 3.932. Larry Dixon is next on the sheets at 3.937. Cory McClenathan, Shawn Langdon, Spencer Massey, Joe Hartley, Terry Haddock, and Steve Chrisman round out the quick eight.
Troxel makes Pro Mod debut: The Pro Mods are on the track, making their first qualifying passes of the weekend. Among the Pro Mod contingent this weekend is national-event-winning Top Fuel and Funny Car driver Melanie Troxel. Running side by side with Rickie Smith, who has run Pro Stock, Troxel posted a solid first pass in the Pro Mod ranks, clocking a 6.164. “It was nice, and a bit of a relief. Anytime you run a new car, whether it’s a Funny Car or a Pro Mod or whatever, it’s nice to get the first pass out of the way; even more so for me, probably, because that was my first pass ever to the finish line,” Troxel said. “We were maybe a little bit slow, which I think was partially by design. Al [crew chief Billes] just wanted to make sure I got a nice, safe run in right out of the box. We were also one of the first cars down the track, and we were able to learn from that and go back and tune up [teammates] Raymond Commisso's and Roger Burgess’ cars. But I feel really good about the run: it was the first time to the finish line, the car was nice and straight, my shifts were on time, and it was about all I could ask for as far as getting out there and getting my feet wet.”
Trip to the beach: Shawn Gann put his Rum Bum ride in the sand after posting a 7.06 lap on his second qualifying run today. After the brakes on his Suzuki didn't work properly, Gann went into the sand and all the way to the net, which did its job and stopped him. Gann was unhurt in the incident, evidenced by him pitching in to help get the bike out of the sand, but he and his team will definitely have a lot of work to do before tomorrow's qualifying runs.
Pro Stock Motorcycle, session two: Craig Treble jumped to the top of the qualifying order. Running with backing from Honda of Kingston (N.Y.) this weekend, Treble ran a 7.008 to claim the provisional No. 1. Though he improved to a 7.019, first-session leader Eddie Krawiec was bumped down a spot to second. Michael Phillips is third, Steve Johnson is fourth, and Karen Stoffer sits seventh. Junior Pippin holds the 12th and final carryover spot with a 7.102.
Pro Stock, session two: Allen Johnson knocked Mike Edwards off the top spot. Running next to Edwards in the final pair of the session, Johnson ran a 6.607 for the No. 1 spot. Showing bracket-like consistency, Edwards matched the 6.610 he ran earlier in the day to solidify his No. 2 standing. Ron Krisher moved up to the third position after posting a 6.629 and is followed on the sheets by Warren Johnson (6.639), Greg Anderson (6.642), Kurt Johnson (6.642), Greg Stanfield (6.650), and Rickie Jones (6.653). Larry Morgan's 6.665 was 12th best, giving him the final transfer spot heading into Saturday.
Funny Car, session two: Ashley Force Hood remained at the top in Funny Car, driving her Castrol-backed entry to a 4.071 to lead the entire field by nearly four-hundredths. Force Hood's teammate Mike Neff is second at 4.110. Tony Pedregon enters Saturday's final two sessions in third after posting a 4.142, and Robert Hight sits fourth with a 4.148. John Force anchors the 12-car provisional field with a 4.445.
Top Fuel, second session: As he did in the first session, Tony Schumacher led the Top Fuelers in the second session, running a 3.818 to take the No. 1 spot. Larry Dixon is second with a 3.836 and is followed by Cory McClenathan, Morgan Lucas, Antron Brown, Brandon Bernstein, and Shawn Langdon. Joe Hartley finished 12th with a 4.062.
TV note: NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, which normally airs at 11 a.m. ET Sundays, will move to noon ET on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD this weekend. In addition to Race Day, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise one hour of qualifying highlights Saturday, June 13, at 7 p.m. ET. On Sunday, June 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 10 p.m. ET.