United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals event notebook
Friday, June 05, 2009
News and notes from Sunday at the 12th annual United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals from Route 66 Raceway in Chicago. Compiled by the NHRA.com and National DRAGSTER staffs.
SUNDAY (Previous: Friday | Saturday)
Last update: 6 p.m. Central (click to latest item)
Right about now, we should be rolling out the stage for pre-race introductions, but that's not happening and not likely to happen anytime soon. A pretty steady rain continues to fall at Route 66 Raceway. The fans are taking refuge under the massive grandstands here while the teams tinker with their hot rods in the pits, casting scowls at the gray sky. We actually raced this morning, knocking off some more Sportsman rounds, but rain began here about 9:45 a.m.
Right now, there is no scheduled start time while we wait for this storm to blow through. If you believe the weather.com forecast (hey, this is the Midwest), we might be in for a long day.
Weather update (10:35 a.m.): The rain has stopped, and track-drying procedures have begun. The broom crew is sweeping, the tractor is tractoring, the jet is jetting, etc.
Update (11 a.m.): Well, for a minute there we were looking good. NHRA has announced 11 a.m. as the start of pre-race with a projected start to Top Fuel at 11:45 ... then the rain returned. It's a light rain but rain nonetheless.
Rain has lessened, and drying is under way.
Follow along: Round winners 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.
Update (11:55 a.m.): The stage has been wheeled out, and pre-race ceremonies are ready to begin. Top Fuel is projected to run at 12:20.
12:15 p.m.: Looking outside, that 12:20 start might be a tad optimistic. Crewmembers are walking the track, but the stage is still empty save for the NHRA staff wiping it down of accumulated moisture.
12:30 p.m.: Pre-race is complete, the first cars are rolling out from under the tower (Rod Fuller vs. Cory McClenathan), and we're ready for the national anthem and, finally, some drag racing!
12:30 p.m.: We have nitro! Fuller and Cory Mac both better their qualifying times, so the air and traction is good, and "Hot Rod" wins it on a holeshot, showing no signs of his prolonged layoff.
Top Fuel round one: Despite the rain, there's plenty of starting-line traction with nothing but side-by-side launches, but not everyone gets to the other end under power, especially Tony Schumacher, whose 20-month string of 35 straight first-round wins ends against Terry Haddock when the Army car goes up in smoke at half-track. It's Haddock's first Top Fuel round-win, and a huge one at that. It's Schumacher's first first-round exit since the 2007 Richmond event. Morgan Lucas has low e.t. of the round at 3.856; six of the eight winners ran in the 3.80s.
Second-round pairings (bold has lane choice): Fuller vs. Antron Brown; Clay Millican vs. Brandon Bernstein; Haddock vs. Spencer Massey; Lucas vs. Larry Dixon.
Funny Car round one: An amazing round of racing. Defending event champ Tony Pedregon wins his fifth straight round here -- defeating points leader Ron Capps -- as he and fellow top-three qualifiers Ashley Force Hood, Mike Neff, and Bob Tasca III all run in the 4.0s. All four John Force Mustangs -- plus the Fords of Tasca and Tim Wilkerson -- advance to round two, making six Fords, a Chevy, and a Toyota in the quarterfinals.
It's the first time since last year's fall Las Vegas event that all four Force cars survived round one.
Second-round pairings (bold has lane choice): Tony Pedregon vs. Robert Hight; Wilkerson vs. Cruz Pedregon; Force Hood vs.Tasca; Neff vs. John Force.
Pro Stock round one: Greg Stanfield and Jason Line engaged in a fun 45-second staging burndown before Line finally moved in first. Stanfield got the better light (.017 to .027) and the win light. It's Line's first first-round loss of the season.
Though the fuel cars seemed to prefer the right lane (13 of 16 winners), the Pro Stockers loved the left, with seven of eight winners over there, and all winners ran in the 6.60s. There were four red-lights (Rodger Brogdon, Ronnie Humphrey, Ron Krisher, and Justin Humphreys).
Second-round pairings (bold has lane choice): Mike Edwards vs. Johnny Gray; Allen Johnson vs. Kurt Johnson; Greg Anderson vs. Stanfield; Jeg Coughlin vs. Warren Johnson.
Pro Stock Motorcycle round one: Big upset as Karen Stoffer is -.023 red against first-time qualifer Katie Sullivan. Stoffer's GEICO Suzuki was among the quickest in each qualifying session and too quick here against the 18-year-old rookie.
Second-round pairings (bold has lane choice): Doug Horne vs. Eddie Krawiec; Matt Smith vs. Andrew Hines; Michael Phillips vs, Matt Guidera; Sullivan vs. Steve Johnson.
A bad Shoe day: Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Smith is the lone survivor of Don Schumacher's six-entry megateam. Both of Schumacher's Top Fuelers and all three of his Funny Cars lost in round one.
Top Fuel round two: After a quick round of Top Alcohol Funny Car, we'll be right back into Top Fuel. The legendary "Greek," Chris Karamesines, who did not qualify, is an interested spectator on the starting line. He's chatting with Don Prudhomme as they watch the track prep work.
Clay Millican's strong recent run continues as he wins and moves into the top 10. He'll face Antron Brown, who has lane choice. On the other side of the ladder, Dixon will face his former car and Spencer Massey for the second straight semifinal; Dixon beat him in Topeka last weekend, but Massey has lane choice.
If Brown beats Millican in the next round, he'll take over the points lead.
Funny Car round two: T-Ped and Cruz take out the two Fords on their side of the ladder to ensure that one of los hermanos Pedregon will be in the final (Tony has lane choice), and with four Mustangs on the other side, there's going to be a Ford in the final agianst one of them. It'll be Force Hood in her fifth semifinal of the year with lane choice against teammate Neff after Poppa Force's mount bangs the blower against Neff.
Pro Stock round two: Stanfield breaks an intake valve on the burnout in the battle of the Gregs, advancing Anderson, who will face Jeg Coughlin holding lane choice. Mike Edwards, with low e.t. of the round (again) will have lane choice when he faces Kurt Johnson.
Pro Stock Motorcycle round two: Sullivan puts a starting-line scare into Steve Johnson, but he gets by her for the win and will face Matt Guidera, who has lane choice. Harley teammates Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines will square off, assuring a Harley in the final; Krawiec has lane choice.
Hines' win over red-lighting Matt Smith moved him into second in points behind Krawiec, making for an important semi between the Harley riders.
Top Fuel semifinals: Believe it or not, the sun is out and we see shadows for the first time today. It's not Cancun-sunny by any means, but it beats rain.
Spencer Massey, runner-up earlier this year in Atlanta, reaches the second final of his rookie season where he will face Antron Brown, looking for his third win of the season. Brown has lane choice and, with that round win, the points lead.
Funny Car semifinals: Tony runs low e.t. with a 4.062 to dismantle brother Cruz's decent 4.11 and will face Ashley Force Hood, who ran 4.078. T-Ped is the defending event champ and will have lane choice.
The final-round battle will also be for possession of second place, currently held by Ashley.
Pro Stock semifinals: Jeg beats Greg by .005-second to set up half the final; he's joined by Mike Edwards, who wins by an even smaller margin, .001-second, after driving around Kurt Johnson's holeshot.
Pro Stock Motorcycle semifinals: Krawiec erases teammate Hines, but neither is spectaular in a 7.14 to 7.19 joust.. Matt Guidera easily earns lane choice with a 7.06 thrashing of Steve Johnson's 7.30.
Final rounds: Thanks to the rain delay this morning, the finals are being shown live on ESPN2. Guidera outruns Krawiec for his first win since last year's Sonoma event for Pro Stock Motorcycle honors, then Mike Edwards fouls to Jeg Coughlin despite holding a good performance advantage. Tony pedregon wins Funny Car for the second straight time here and for his first win since last year's Brainerd event. The highlight though comes in the final final, where Spencer Massey confirms Don Prudhomme's belief in his skills by winning his first NHRA Top Fuel title in just his 10th start.
SATURDAY
Welcome to day three of the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals from Route 66 Raceway. Today's a big day for NHRA's Sportsman racers as it's the 25th running of the Jegs Allstars program. For the past year, racers have been battling within their respective divisions to earn points for the right to be the sole reprersentative in their class to fight against the best from other divisions for individual and team glory.Introductions are set to begin at 10 a.m., followed by the first round.
Before we get to that, there's other business, including the third rounds of other Sportsman eliminations and the final alcohol qualifying sessions.
There's a little bit of a weather concern as forecasts are calling for showers this afternoon, beginning with a 25 percent chance at noon and growing from there into the early evening. We dodged rain bullets yesterday as patches of dark clouds flitted overhead but dropped none of the wet stuff. The good news is that the weather will be cool -- high 60s to low 70s throughout -- which makes for record-busting weather. Stay tuned!
TV schedule: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 10:30 p.m. (ET) tonight. Tomorrow, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 11 a.m. (ET), and three hours of eliminations coverage at 4 p.m. (ET).
Allstars renewed: As preparations begin for the Allstars introductions, an announcement was made that Jegs will continue to sponsor this great event through 2013 and that Top Sportsman and Top Dragster will be added beginning next year. For details, click here.
Butner out: Former Comp world champ Bo Butner was injured in a vehicle accident in the pits last night, reportedly suffering a broken arm. He was a no-show for today's second round.
Laker pride: Jegs Allstar Chris Demke's Division 7 Alcohol Dragster team backed him up from his first-round burnout using L.A. Lakers flags as guidance aids. Demke followed by slamdunking Division 6 rep Joey Severeance in an all-supercharged battle.
Allstars update: After one complete round of eliminations in the 25th annual Jeg's Allstars competition, the team from the West Central Division (Division 5) holds a slim one-round lead in the battle for the overall team title. Division 5 finished the round with 600 points, 100 more than the teams from Divisions, 1, 2, and 3, who are each tied with 500 points. The Division 4 and 7 teams are still in the running with 400 points and the Division 6 team is already guaranteed a last-place finish with just 100 points.
Pro Stock Motorcycle session three: Climbing humidity from an approaching rainshower hurts the bike teams, who also can't quite figure it out, similar to last night. for the second straight session, Karen Stoffer's GEICO Suzuki has the best run at 7.03. Three riders, including poleitter Doug Horne, ran 7.07.
Pro Stock qualifying session three: Again, unlike the bikes last night, the Pro Stock cars take advantage of today's cooler temps with a slew of mid to low 6.60s. Ryan Ondrejko drops some jaws with a stout 6.650 in Jim Yates' car to enter the quick 16 after an impressive .917 60-foot time.Warren Johnson also looks great with a 6.627 to also crack the field, one of five 6.62s this round, but Mike Edwards stars again with a 6.596 and stays No. 1. Ronnie Humprhey is on the bump at 6.671.
Weather alert: Latest forecast calls for a chance of rain at 1 p.m. local time. Bah!
Top Fuel session three: With the weather closing in and 19 cars on hand, we're seeing drivers stay in the gas when they normally would lift. T.J. Zizzo, making his first run of the event, smokes the tires but gets right back into it, pedaling several times to a 5.38. Right after him, Chicago's own Chris Karamesines keeps his foot buried despite a fire that begins 100 feet into the run and only grows bigger as he goes downtrack. Still. he logs a 4.87. Both, of course, are now provisionally qualified. We're down for oil.
After a lengthy cleanup and a lot of worried skyward glances, the rain is still on hold but the cars aren't as we're underway again, and Zizzo and "the Greek" are quickly bumped from the field.
The sprinkles are here (1:10 p.m.). Doug Kalitta was just preparing to stage when starter Rick Stewart gave him the cut-off signal. The fans are leaving the stands, so it's more than a sprinkle, yet not a downpour. We're on hold as the teams bust out the car covers.
Weather update: The rain has stopped and track drying is underway at 2:05 p.m. There is no estimated time for the resumption of action.
Tony Schumacher hosts special guest: Soldier of the Year Sgt. David Obray, a Light-Wheeled Mechanic with the U.S. Army Reserve 492nd Engineer Company, 416th Engineer Command in Darien, Ill., is spending a little time with "the Sarge" this weekend. “This is my first drag race, and I guarantee it won’t be my last,” said Obray, the second Reserve soldier to win the prestigious title of Soldier of the Year. “The mechanics of drag racing, how things work, it’s all very interesting. Prior to this my racing knowledge came from movies like Talledega Nights, so this is a pretty neat experience.”
Top Fuel ready to resume: It's just past 2:30 and the drivers are suiting up. The tractor is making some final passes. After a service in the pits, Kalitta will pick up where he left off, wtih Clay Millican and Spencer Massey up behind him. It's been about an hour and 15 minutes since the first drops fell; not bad as rain delays go.
Not a lot of shuffling and some minor improvements. Shawn Langdon clawed past teammate Morgan Lucas for the No. 4 spot and Antron Brown and tony Schumacher closed the round with side-by-side 3.86s, with a 0 in the thou column for AB and a 4 for Shoe. Brown remains the No. 1 qualifier and Luigi Novelli sits on the bump with one to go at 4.09.
Funny Car session three: We're still underway, but there's already a couple of things we know already: Del Worsham will sit on the bump with one to go at 4.30 and Jack Beckman is still not yet qualified with one shot left.
Not a lot of movement here beyond setting the final four spots; a lot of 4-teens that could have been better if not for apparent top-end looseness.
Some starting-line weirdnesss. John Force and Bob Tasca III were lined up and ready to go when Force's side of the Tree went red before he moved. Tasca roared off to a 4.14. Not quite sure what happened yet.
Force's crew will be able to take the car back to the pits for a quick service then return to make his run.
It wasn't exactly an Indy 500-worthy pit stop, but Force is back from the pits and to the line in short order. Nice pass, with a 4.127.
Allstars update: With two rounds of eliminations in the books, the battle for the overall team title at the 25th annual Jeg's Allstars is too close to call. With just the final rounds remaining, the teams from Divisions 1, 2, 3, and 5 are all tied with 800 points each. The team from Division 7 is still in the hunt with 700 points and the Division 4 team has 600 points.
The Division 1 team has several of its stars remaining including Top Alcohol Funny Car's Frank Manzo, who is seeking his record-breaking seventh Allstars title. Manzo will face Division 5 racer Roger Bateman in the final. Other finalists include Bill Reichert (Div. 3) and Chris Demke (Div 7) in Top Alcohol Dragster and Sal Biondo (Div. 1) and recent Topeka champ Bruno Massel (Div. 5) in Comp.
Pro Stock Motorcycle final session: Crazy moment as Craig Treble's bike loses fire in the water box and Steve Johnson, astride his bike in the pair behind him, leaps off of his Suzuki and runs up to assist Treble's Team Scream crew. The bike lights, and Johnson returns to the saddle of his machine as Treble blasts off to a 7.14.
The Harleys hit their stride as Andrew Hines runs 7.008 and teammate Eddie Krawiec 7.011 for the two bets runs of the round, but neither is able to pass Doug Horne for the top spot. Horne runs just 7.08. Stoffer remains impressive with a 7.029 to back up a pair of 7.03s and her 6.97 run of record.
Katie Sullivan will qualify for her first race in her second start; ironically, she will face the field's only other woman, Karen Stoffer, in round one.
Pro Stock final session: The bump has been set at 6.671 as no one can unseat third-session bubble man Ronnie Humphrey. No real major improvements and Edwards finishes atop the pack for the sixth time in 10 races, Ryan Ondrejko qualifies in his class debut in Jim Yates' Pontiac.
Steve Spiess, V. Gaines, and larry Morgan are among the high-profile non qualifiers.
Top Fuel final session: T.J. Zizzo takes a shot at cracking the 4.09 bump but falls short to breakage. Chris Karamesines did not return after his earlier flamethrower, so only Tim Cullinan can bump veteran Luigi Novelli, and he's up next. Cullinan has a decent run underway but the engine goes sour at the top and he slows to a 4.20. Novelli, who is watching in the next pair, sees that he's won't be bumped and pulls out of line.
Clay Millican runs a career-best 3.85 to move past Larry Dixon to the No. 3 spot but Dixon bumps him down one spot in the next run with a 3.843 for the No. 2 spot with Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown still to run. Brown is No. 1 and Schumacher No. 3 as they edge to the line ... and Schumacher takes the No. 2 spot back with a stout 3.836. Brown stays No. 1 for his fourth pole of the year.
Funny Car final session: Jack Beckman bumped his way into the field and knocked local hero John Lawson from the field in the process, which put points leader Ron Capps on the bump spot at 4.23, but no longer in danger of being bumped as just 18 cars are on hand. It was a good thing, too, as Capps could only run 4.228 and will oppose the low qualifier in round one.
As the track and air cooled, a lot of drivers made their best runs of the event -- including Ashley Force Hood, who ran 4.094 to take the No. 2 spot, Tim Wilkerson (4.118), and reigning season champ Cruz Pedregon, who put a 4.119 on the board – and incoming class leader Tony Pedregon, who takes the wind out of everyone's sails with a better-yet 4.079. He and Capps will face off in round one.
Jegs Allstars: Division 3 won the Jegs Allstars team title in dramatic fashion, breaking a tie with Division 1 on the last pass of the competition as Bill Reichert won Alcohol Dragster to push Division 3 to the title. An exciting finish to an exciting day.
FRIDAY
Welcome to Joliet: It's day 2 of the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals from Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., just outside of Chicago. After a full day of time trials yesterday, we're already into Sportsman eliminations, with Super Street, Super Gas, and Stock already up and Super Stock coming next. Comp and the alcohol classes will run at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively.
The Full Throttle Pros will get their first of four scheduled qualifying passes later today, with sessions scheduled to begin with Pro Stock Motorcycle at 2:30 and 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.
Threatening clouds have been floating overhead on and off all day, but never apparently low enought to drop rain.It's provided a challenging off-again-on-again cloud cover to test the crew chiefs.
Pro Stock Motorcycle first session: Rookie of the year frontrunner Doug Horne showed how he has earned that mantle by grabbing the No. 1 spot for the first time halfway through the opening day. His 6.93 leads five riders in the sixes. A lot of part-time riders personal bests early in qualifying
Pro Stock first session: Jeg Coughlin, whose family is celebrating a big weekend with tomorrow's Jegs Allstars competition, looks allstar-ish himself by grabbing the No. 1 spot with a 6.616 supplanting perennial low qualifier Mike Edwards by a thou on the last pass of the session.
Funny Car first session: Tony Pedregon grabs the No. 1 spot with a 4.118 to lead the field by nearly six-hundredths over No. 2 man and homestate hero Tim Wilkerson. Matt Hagan's car looks cool with the new Fram Tough Guard graphics.
Top Fuel first session: Although both J.R. Todd and "Hot Rod" Fuller were making their first runs of the season, they looked right at home with respective passes of 4.00 and 3.94. On the opposite end of the experience spectrum, "the Greek," 80-year-old Chris Karamesines is decidedly unhappier after a spectacular and substantial top-end fire. (seesion still underway).
Track temps which had been over 110 degrees earlier, are now down to 98, thanks to the come-and-go cloud cover.
For a while it looked like Topeka champ Larry Dixon was going to continue his hoit streak after posting a 3.91, but Chicagoland hometown hero Tony Schumacher wowed and surprised everyone with a stout 3.84 on the sesssion's final pass.
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VIP visit: Illinois Department of Transportation Director Michael Stout took a tour of the John Force Racing pit area after he spent a few minutes talking with Castrol GTX Ford Mustang driver Ashley Force Hood.
A quick engagement: Michael Wiley and Jenna Jackson of Aurora, Ill., had a memorable Friday at Route 66 Raceway as the couple got engaged while Jackson was seated in the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster usually occupied by Morgan Lucas. Wiley had contacted PR expert Lachelle Seymour of Route 66 Raceway prior to the event hoping to ask for Jackson's hand in the GEICO pit as they are big fans of Lucas. The team took the idea and ran with it, turning a casual pit tour into a moment the couple will never forget.
"My mom thought it would be neat to have Jenna get in the car so Mike could pop the question while she was sitting in the driver's seat," Lucas said. "Then we came up with the idea of tying the engagement ring to the steering wheel so I could lock it into place in front of her once she got in there. Everything worked out perfectly and the best news is she said 'Yes!'"
Pro Stock Motorcycle second session: Perhaps one of the more unusual rounds of pro Stock Motorcycle as not a single one of the 21 riders was able to improve on his earlier run, despite a cooler track temperature and shadows nearly covering the starting line. Doug Horne remains No. 1 with his earlier 6.936.
Pro Stock second session: The Pro Stock cars didn't suffer from whatever was ailing the bikes as wholesale changes are spread throughout the field. Johnny Gray, who ran just 7.09 on his first pass, scorched the track with a 6.631 that eventually landed him seventh. Kurt Johnson (6.625) and Rodger Brogdon (6.629) also made big improvements, but no one dropped more jaws that Mike Edwards, whose 6.587 blast zoomed him past Jeg Coughlin into the No. 1 spot. Greg Anderson also got past Coughlin's 6.616 on the final pass of the session with a 6.613.
Funny Car second session: IHRA runner Justin Schriefer made his NHRA debut lap in the Creasy family car, a respectable pass of 4.69. We're down for oil after Robert Hight slaughtered the engine in the auto Club Mustang at halftrack and left a lot of fluids on the track.
Tony Pedregon, who led after the first session will lead after the second as well with a backbreaking 4.088 pass. Behind Pedregon's Quaker State Chevy are a quartet of Mustangs: Mike Neff, John Force, Bob Tasca III, and Ashley Force Hood. Points leader Ron Capps will need to make a run to qualify tomorrow after placing 14th today.
Top Fuel second session: Improvements are plentiful, and Antron Brown pounds out a 3.826 to go from 10th to first, but with the air cooling, will it hold for the top spot?
The round closes with Tony Schumacher versus former crew chief Alan Johnson and driver Larry Dixon, who entered the final session Nos. 1 and 2 and were gunning to take the top spot from Brown. Can they do it? Nope. Both run decent, Dixon witha 3.85 and Shoe with a 3.86, but Brown will head into Saturday with the top position.