It doesn't get any better than this

When you cover any kind of event, you hope for a lot of things. Drama. Emotion. A chance at seeing history broken and records set.

Sometimes you get lucky and get one; sometimes you get none. At the 2009 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, we got all four. Lucky us.

I mean, can you believe the Countdown drama? O-M-G.

Robert Hight needs all of the planets to align to get past Matt Hagan and Cruz Pedregon and jump from 12th to 10th place, and darned if he didn't do it. Teammate Ashley Force Hood took out Hagan in round one and darned if Hight's boss, the long-suffering John Force – who hadn't qualified at this event the last two years – took out Pedregon in round two, then lost traction against his driver in the semifinals to allow Hight to pass Pedregon.

Heated words are exchanged between Force and Tony Pedregon in the shutdown area after the semifinals, the tiff shown in all its glory on the big screen. Good lip readers here got an earful; the TV audience got better. Emotions were (and right now, still are) high. OMG.

All of this, of course, comes on a weekend that the JFR powerhouse was having to make do without Austin Coil on this most crucial of weekends. How'd they do? Four carsin the top five qualifiers, two cars in the final, Hight in the Countdown. Pretty darned good. Regardless, I bet Coil will be allowed in the pits in Charlotte.

In Top Fuel, qualifying got shortened so Joe Hartley and Clay Millican have one shot to continue their dream. Millican succeeds, Hartley does not. Major heartbreak.

Pro Stock Motorcycle on Monday is a four-way cluster with multiple scenarios that all get cleared up in one sad red-light by two-time and defending Indy champ Steve Johnson, who will sit out the final dance.

Pro stock Motorcycle features two guys – Hector Arana and Michael Phillips -- who have never been to an Indy final let alone won it, while Pro Stock has won guy (Greg Stanfield) looking for his first U.S. Nationals Wally. Very cool!

And Top Fuel? How fitting that the final Indy Top Fuel final of the decade features the two guys who have dominated the class this decade. And with a shot at history on the line for one of them. OMG!

Schumacher did as expected – well, at least as I expected (and predicted before the event, he said, patting himself the back) – and not only won the race and tied the record, but did it by beating the only driver of this era with a record at this event anywhere approaching his,

"I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else in the other lane," he said frankly, and I believe him.

"People pay a lot of money to come out and see this, and I don’t think anyone will be asking for a refund after that," he added. And I believe him. It was that kind of race. It was that good.
 

Seeing the sights

The landscape at Indy has changed significantly over the years, from when the DA Lubricants Tower sat where today's Top Eliminator Club lives through the building of the famed Parks Tower and later the grandstand-topping skybox suites, and it's always one of my Indy rituals to take a good thorough tour around the facility to see old haunts and remember those no longer here.

The track has been around since the facility was built on a 267-acre farm purchased by local businessmen in 1958. Originally designed to host only a 15-turn, 2.5-mile road course, a dragstrip was added almost as an afterthought, but by 1961 had become the new home of the NHRA Nationals after a two-year ruin in Detroit. The NHRA purchased the entire facility in 1979.

The DA tower was moved to the top end and later over to the adjacent oval track. The tower stood for years just past the finish line on the left side of the track served as a great vantage point for top-end photographers, and I shared many memorable afternoons there with the likes of Steve Reyes, the Indianapolis Star's Vern Atkins, and others. I have some great photos in my collection of Indy mishaps.

My first trip to Indy wasn't for the U.S. Nationals, but rather the SPORTSnationals that were held here in May 1983. The parks tower was just a steel skeleton then, but a revolutionary one at that, and one copied many times over. It still serves as a hub of activity, housing the media center, race control, the announcing deck, and several corporate suites. National DRAGSTER has a suite there this year, at the far right of the top floor (far left if you're facing the tower); Linda Vaughn tells me that for years it was the Hurst suite.

One of the other Indy landmarks is the famed crossover bridge, which made its Indy debut in 1967 and for years was sponsored by Hurst. It used to be a lot closer to the starting line but had to be moved for construction of the Parks Tower. Now it's back by the staging lanes but still serves the vital function of allowing fans to go back and forth between the Pro and Sportsman pits without having to dodge racecars.

I made my annual pilgrimage across the old gal – just to say that I did – and could only imagine the millions of footfalls of eager Indy fans who have crossed it in the four decades since, fans running to see their heroes in the pits or headed back to the grandstands to watch the action.

It was a fun tour, and a great touchstone to the event's past. You could almost smell the decades of burned nitro permeating the wooden sides.
 

Meeting the members

At select NHRA national events, NHRA members get to enjoy a place of their own, the NHRA Member Hospitality tent, where they can get out of the sun (or rain), buy some snacks, watch the races on closed-circuit TV, and, best of all, be selected the NHRA VIP Member of the Race on raceday. All NHRA members are eligible to sign up for that and other prizes, which are drawn throughout the weekend with The Big Deal of the Day picked Monday.

The VIP Member of the Race not only gets a ticket upgrade to the Top Eliminator Club but also gets to stand on the starting line between the first pair of Top Fuelers in round one. Sweet! Plus, before the round, they get to take part in a racer meet-n-greet before pre-race, getting "backstage passes" to the area behind the introduction stage where the racers mill and chat for a half hour or more prior to pre-race. It's the ultimate autograph and photo op adventure. They then get introduced to the crowd themselves. This event's winners are Ray and Brenda Quinn, 20-year NHRA members.

I dropped by the member tent this morning to watch National DRAGSTER Advertising Director Jeff Morton do his thing, engaging the packed house of members with his friendly and funny style as he drew names for the VIP member and various door prizes, including diecast cars, portable radios, books, tickets to future events, and tickets to the National DRAGSTER suite in the Parks Tower.

I cruised around the gathering, answering questions from the members about everything from the old Daily DRAGSTER newspapers we produced here for 20 years to questions about possible digital editions of ND and the well-being of Austin Coil. I made sure to thank everyone for their continued support of NHRA through their membership. We know in this economy that budgets are tight, and we appreciate their continued support, which is why we offer perks like the member tent, the online audiocast, live timing (coming real soon … I promise!), and more.

From there, I wandered down to the class winner winner's circle to see the plaque that O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis General Manager Ron Anderson helped create with input from the DRAGSTER staff (see Kevin McKenna's blog) to salute our old pal Eric Brooks, who shot class winner pics there for nearly 40 years. We lost Eric earlier this year, but we wanted him to be remembered by those whom he helped make famous. I wrote the line for the plaque that still seems spot on: "He was always as happy to see you are you were to see him."

We miss ya, Eric.
 

The King's new colors

The new sponsorship was announced live on NHRA Raceday.

Kenny Bernstein, right, was joined by, from left, son Brandon, NHRA President Tom Compton, Charlotte and Forrest Lucas, and Copart President Jay Adair and CEO Willis Johnson during the announcement in his pit area.

During the rain delay, we all headed over to Kenny Bernstein's pit area for the press conference where he was expected to announce his team's new sponsor for 2010. There had been plenty of speculation and leaks about the identity of the sponsor, and he definitely had a packed house of curious media, fellow racers, and a number of associated team sponsors on hand, which led to a lot of second-guessing. Plus on the heels of Don Prudhomme's announcement yesterday, heck, anything can happen.

Forrest and Charlotte and Morgan Lucas, longtime backers of the Bernstein team, were in attendance, leading many to speculate that the Bernsteins would become yet another car to carry Lucas Oil as a primary name on its flanks, but before long the reception area also was filled with happy looking people in Copart shirts.

Kenny and Brandon weren't there; they were a few hundred feet away on the stage of NHRA Raceday with Dave Rieff and Copart President Jay Adair to make the announcement live on ESPN2. We had a feed in the pit area so that we could watch the show, which included the signing of the official contract by both KB and Adair.

The Bernsteins and Adair joined us in the pit area shortly after, where they were greeted with handshakes and hugs and applause. Benrstein addressed the assembled crowd, and he and Adair spoke, as did NHRA President Tom Compton, Copart CEO Willis Johnson, and Forrest Lucas.

The Bernstein car will be outfitted in blue livery next year, which will help the identity of the new backer and separate people's minds from the "Forever Red" Budweiser union that Bernstein has long enjoyed. Bernstein, who first met Adair in Sonoma, called the sponsorship a "rebirth" for him and his team and that he was looking forward to helping further increase awareness of Copart, which sells more than a million cars a year online through its Web site.
 

Indy trivia redux

Okay, well now we're getting wet with the first official rain of the 2009 U.S. Nationals (not counting Friday's very very light mist). With no cars running, it's a good time to head out to the pits but I wanted to leave you a little something while I do that.  I'm not sure how many of you follow my bi-weekly column on NHRA.com, called the DRAGSTER Insider (how's that for a cheap plug?) , but I thought that the column I wrote Friday was worth sharing here with a potentially larger audience.

It'a series of somewhat obscure U.S. Nationals trivia that will either blow your mind or put you to sleep. I'm willing to take the risk.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

… there have been 334 U.S. Nationals winners in the past 54 years?

… 67 of those drivers have won the Big Go more than once? Two drivers have won it nine times, one has scored eight times, two have been victorious seven times, five have titled six times, another has won it five times, three have scored four times, 15 have done in three times, and 38 have scored twice. (To save you the math work, 267 drivers have won it just once.)

Bob Glidden won Pro Stock at the U.S. Nationals nine times, including this 1987 victory that he collected in the midst of a four-year winning streak in Indy.

… four drivers have won the U.S. Nationals four straight years, three of them in Pro Stock? Bob Glidden accomplished that amazing feat of dominance first (1985-1988), followed by Warren Johnson (1992-1995) and Greg Anderson (2003-2006). They are joined by Top Alcohol Funny Car's Pat Austin (1988- 91).

… three drivers have three-peated at Indy? Tony Schumacher and Frank Manzo both have won Indy three years straight twice in their careers. Schumacher did it in 2002, 2003, and 2004 as well as 2006, 2007, and 2008, and Manzo in 2000, 2001, and 2002 as well as 2005, 2006, and 2007. "Big Daddy" Don Garlits did it once (1984, 1985, and 1986).

 … 24 drivers have doubled up in Indy, winning two straight years? Glidden (1973, 1974 and 1978, 1979), Don Prudhomme (1969, 1970 and 1973, 1974), and Dave Schultz (1987, 1988 and 1993, 1994) all did it twice, and Joe Amato (1987, 1988), Brad Anderson (1984, 1985), Dale Armstrong (1974, 1975), Gary Beck (1972, 1973), Kevin Helms (1998, 1999), Kurt Johnson (1996, 1997), Doug Lambeck (1998, 1999), Ed McCulloch (1971, 1972), George Montgomery (1959, 1960), John Myers (1996, 1997), Cruz Pedregon (1994, 1995), Larry Pritchett (2002, 2003), David Rampy (1998, 1999), Scotty Richardson (1995, 1996), Joe Smith (1974, 1975), Glen Treadwell (2005, 2006), Angelle Sampey (2001, 2002), Lee Shepherd (1980, 1981), Gene Snow (1966, 1967), Terry Vance (1985, 1986), and Lee Zane (2003, 2004) all pulled off the feat once.

… no driver has ever won two classes on the same day in Indy, though several have come close. Austin was the first with his Top Alcohol Funny Car win and Top Fuel runner-up in 1991, and he has been followed in the near-miss category by Richardson (1996 Stock win, Super Gas runner-up) and Rampy (1998 Super Comp win, Comp runner-up).

… with a Top Fuel victory, Schumacher will have won eight of 10 U.S. Nationals this decade and will tie Garlits as the class' winningest driver in Indy?

Top Alcohol Funny Car star Frank Manzo is poised to become the winningest driver in U.S. Nationals history if he collects his 10th Indy win this year. His win in 2002 here also was his milestone 50th victory; he now owns 84 wins.

… Top Alcohol Funny Car wunderkind Manzo has the chance this weekend to become the winningest driver in U.S. Nationals history – regardless of class -- with a 10th victory? He also has two runner-ups here.

… Manzo has won the U.S. Nationals six times this decade?

… until Manzo tied him with an Indy win in 2007, former Pro Stock kingpin and home-state favorite Glidden had been the winningest driver in U.S. Nationals for nearly 20 years, since his last win here in 1988? How good was he?

… Glidden also has six runner-ups in Indy?

… the only person to beat Glidden more than once in an Indy Pro Stock final was Shepherd? He did it back to back in 1980 and 1981.

…  four drivers have scored in three classes in Indy? Pete Biondo and Richardson have both won in Super Stock, Stock, and Super Comp, and Jeff Taylor has won in Comp, Super Stock, and Stock. Montgomery also won in three classes in the 1960s (when class names shifted quite a bit), scoring twice in Little eliminator and once each in Middle and Sportsman.

…. Biondo has won twice in each of those classes, and Richardson just missed becoming a four-class winner when he was runner-up in Comp in 2007?

… only four drivers -- Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, McCulloch, and Jim Head -- have won the U.S. Nationals in both Top Fuel and Funny Car?

…  Prudhomme not only did it first, winning in Funny Car in 1973 after three previous wins in Top Fuel (1965, 1969, 1970), but with additional Funny Car wins in 1974, 1977, and 1989, he's the only driver with multiple wins in both classes?

… McCulloch is still the winningest Funny Car driver in NHRA history, even though his last fuel coupe win at the Big Go was in 1990?

John Force has won the U.S. Nationals four times, including with this special-edition gold car in 1998, but has DNQ'd the last two years.

… John Force has a chance to tie McCulloch at five wins this year, but that he's failed to qualify in Indy the last two years?

… Force hasn't qualified No. 1 at any NHRA national event since he qualified on the pole at the U.S. Nationals in 2006? That's a span of 66 races, the longest such drought of his Pro career.

… of the 17 NHRA events, past and present, at which Force has logged as many as 20 starts, the U.S. Nationals is the only event he has won fewer than 40 rounds (39)?

… Antron Brown has the chance to become the first NHRA competitor to win at the U.S. Nationals in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle? He earned two-wheeled titles in 2000 and 2004 and is a favorite to win this year in Top Fuel.

… in addition to Prudhomme, McCulloch, Bernstein, Head, and Brown, 12 drivers have wins in two classes: Darrell Gwynn (Top Fuel, Top Alcohol Dragster), Austin (Top Fuel, Top Alcohol Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock, Super Gas), Snow (Sportsman, Comp), Ronnie Sox (Pro Stock, Super Stock), Vance (Pro Stock Motorcycle, Top Fuel Bike), John Lingenfelter (Comp, Super Stock), Rampy (Comp, Super Comp), Dave Boertman (Super Stock, Stock), Larry Morgan (Pro Stock, Super Stock), Bob Riffle (Comp, Modified), and Pete Shadinger (Comp, Little).

… three of the four Coughlin brothers – Jeg, Mike, and Troy – have won Indy titles? Family patriarch Jeg Sr. was a runner-up in Little eliminator in Detroit in 1959. Looks like John's turn next.

The late Dave Schultz is still the winningest Pro Stock Motorcycle rider in U.S. Nationals history and will be for a long, long time.

… even though his last triumph here was 15 years ago, the late Schultz is still the winningest Pro Stock Motorcycle pilot in Indy history with six wins? He'll hold that record for a long, long time as only one other active rider (Steve Johnson) has more than one win.

… Gary Beck (1972) and Larry Dixon (1995) are the only Pro rookies to have won the U.S. Nationals in their first start in Indy?

… only two drivers -- Rick Santos (1993, 1999) and Bill Reichert (2006, 2008) -- have won Top Alcohol Dragster more than once at the U.S. Nationals?

… Mick Leiferman probably holds the record for Indy frustration? He reached the Stock final three straight years (1975, 1976, 1977) and finished as runner-up all three times. He has never won the U.S. Nationals.

… John Smith also is a three-time Indy runner-up without a win, finishing second in Pro Stock Motorcycle in 1993, 1995, and 2000?

… 20 other drivers have reached an Indy final twice and failed to win?

Will this be Ron Capps' year to finally win Indy?

… current NHRA Full Throttle superstars Ron Capps, Doug Kalitta, Tony Pedregon, Brandon Bernstein, Rod Fuller, and Andrew Hines have never won the U.S. Nationals?

… Capps has not only never won the U.S. Nationals but never reached the final here? Fuller has an Indy runner-up, but it was in Super Gas, in 1998.

… Former world champs Eddie Hill, Gary Ormsby, Mark Oswald, Chuck Etchells, Dick LaHaie, Scott Kalitta, and Jim Yates never won at the U.S. Nationals?

… Al Hofmann, Tommy Johnson Jr., Bruce Allen, and Jay Payne are among the list of drivers with 10 or more wins without a U.S. Nationals win?

… Comp racers Tom Trisch and Treadwell went exactly 10 years between their first and second Indy wins? Trisch first won Indy in 1971 and then scored again in 1981, and Treadwell went from his 1995 win until 2005 before he won again here. Treadwell didn't wait 10 years before capturing his third, however; he also scored in 2006.

… the record for the longest time between multiple Indy wins is 22 years? Al Corda won Stock in 1971 and in 1993.

And, finally, did you know that …

… I'm out of Did You Knows?
 

'Snake' takes our breath away ... but I'm holding mine

We filed into the media center's press conference room like excited kids and left like mourners. That's the best way I can describe it. When one of the heroes of your sport -– let alone a childhood hero to most of us – says we might not be seeing him around next year, it's lump-in-the-throat time.

Don Prudhomme had talked openly earlier this year in an interview with me in National DRAGSTER about the possibility of fielding two Top Fuelers in 2010 –- it was originally the reason he hired Spencer Massey before Spencer was promoted into the first-string cockpit following Larry Dixon's departure for the Al-Anabi team –- so I think we all went in there expecting that announcement. I know I did.

So when Prudhomme lieutenant/team manager Skip Allum read from a prepared statement that "the Snake" was looking for either buyer/investor/sponsor for his team, jaws dropped in unison. [Full story] Prudhomme fielded questions afterward and, while the first brush of the news is not good, I'm going to take a glass-half-full look at this.

Prudhomme says he wanted to get the info out so that everyone will know, but I'm looking at his chance to let the media help him get the word out that he's in dire straits and looking for some help. I don't think he's over the sport or no longer believes in it, but he's realist. He knows that some of his owner peers put some of their personal money into their teams, and can't or won't do that.

He also won't run the team on less than an adequate budget, and after all that he has accomplished in his career -– including the two Top Fuel championships that Larry Dixon earned for him in 2002 and 2003 –- you can understand why he wouldn't want to have his final seasons be anything less than representative of his hall of fame career.

"The Snake" said that best: "I don’t want to be a leaker; I want to be able to come to a race and fire our best shot."

We wouldn’t have it any other way either, "Snake."

Still sporty

Watching Matt Hartford in action again in Pro Stock, I'm struck by how many former NHRA sport compact racers are still racing with us two years after their series was discontinued. NHRA held sport compact races from 2001 through 2007, and even allowed the top two classes – Pro RWD and Pro FWD – to compete at the U.S. Nationals from 2005 through 2007.

Hartford, who won the NHRA Modified-class sport compact championship in 2002 and was second in Pro RWD in 2005 is joined in competition at this year's Big Go by Justin Humphreys,  Brad Personett, and Grant Downing.

Everyone knows Pro Stock star Humphreys, who also is a former Modified champ with a turbocharged Lexus. Brad Personett, who won the Pro RWD championship in the series' final three years and won more than a dozen events (won here in 2005 and 2006 with the turbocharged Titan Motorsports Toyota), is competing in the Get Screened America Pro Mod exhibition series (still with turbo power!).

Grant Downing, who won the Pro class championship in 2002 and racked up two event wins with a Toyota truck as part of the powerful Venom team, is compeing here as a privateer in Funny Car and is a successful chassis builder.

Matt Scranton, who went undefeated in winning the 2002 Pro V-8 class with his Toyota Celica, recently campaigned in Pro Stock and was a semifinalist in Gainesville in his debut but since has parked his team.

Bruno Massel, who covered the series as a color commentator, is on a hot streak this season with his turbocharged Cobalt in Comp, notching several big wins this year.

Lisa Kubo, a star in both the Hot Rod and Pro FWD classes (teamed, in the latter, with former NHRA Funny Car star Jim Epler, who was team manager) has been a constant site in the nitro pits and has fuel Funny Car aspirations, while former All Motor racer Scott Kelley has run in Comp in the past and will run in Super Stock next year with a Scion xB in the SS/EX class.

A couple of former sport compact stars, world champs Ed and Ron Bergenholtz and Gary Gardella are now car owners in the Formula Drift world (for Justin Pawluk and Ryan Tuerck, respectively), where Steph Papadakis and Shawn Hillier also lend their mechanical talents.
 

A view from on high

The Parks Tower has been an Indy landmark since 1984, and it's home to a variety of services, including the announcing deck, the media room, and corporate hospitality suites. Last night it again served as my viewing platform for the Pro qualifying session, but not from the second-floor media room. I was, as the Drifters used to sing, "Up on the roof."

It's an interesting perspective to view the action and not one available at many tracks. . Being five stories up, it provides a panoramic view of O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. From the front, you can see from staging lanes to top end, taking in the spectacle of the new eastside grandstands, the event and track logos painted on the grass, and the cars as they race down the track. Stepping to the back you can see the staging lanes and the Pro pit area. It's quite a few; unfortunately, it's not accessible to the average fan.

Being five stories up and behind the starting line provides a whole different perspective than a grandstand view or even a coveted spot in the photographers' area, and not just from a visual perspective.

In the pre-run silence, you can clearly hear the psssssssssssst of the team's arming their air system before firing the engine, the noise easily climbing the front of the tower which sits well behind the starting line and almost even with where the teams light their machines. Being behind the noise, allows you to clearly hear the tires chirp as they hook up at the end of a burnout, which is often lost in the cacophony of the starting line and even from the grandstands, where the roar of the echo of the car's exhaust pulsing from the headers can drown it out.

Also, being up high, the smell of nitro lingers high in the air, even 50 feet up, stinging the eyes and seeming to settle into an inversion layer on high.

And when the cars run? It's a magnificent view. You can see the drivers struggle to keep their machines in the groove, which is plainly visible. You can see both cars and, especially at night, see whose header banks are uneven or faltering. Overall (so to speak), it was an interesting audiovisual and olfactory experience that I wish you all could enjoy at least once.
 

I think ...

Tony Schumacher

Larry Dixon

I think ... that the timing is ripe for Tony Schumacher to tie Garlits' record of eight Indy wins. Indy is Tony Time for sure; "the Sarge" has won "the Big Go" seven times in the last nine years, an Indy dominance unseen in the event's history. Sure, the U.S. Army car ain't what it was last year, but he's got the mojo. Best bet is that he and Larry Dixon – the only other guy to win the race this decade – will square off in the final, which would be a real toss-up. Either way it's a great story.

I think ... that even though John Force has failed to qualify at the last two U.S. Nationals -- I know … shocking! – he'll definitely qualify this weekend despite the absence of Austin Coil. "Way to go out on a limb, Phil," you say? Sure, well tell that to Force last year when no one thought he'd possibly DNQ twice in a row at the race he's won four times.

I think ... this will change: According to his event press release, former NHRA Pro Stock world champ Jason Line has never reached even the semifinals of the U.S. Nationals. I'm not saying that that the 19-time winner will reach 20 here, but I bet he makes the final.

I think ... Jeg Coughlin is serious about winning Indy and the Countdown to 1.  While the rest of his peers were traveling to the race or perhaps enjoying their last day of pre-battle peace, the reigning world champ tested Tuesday before the event at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., some 400 miles from Indy. Not only did he get a chance to last-minute test for Indy, but he also gained some valuable familiarity with the zMax track, which will host the next event and the all-important first race of the Countdown to 1 playoffs.

Qualifying drama prepares to unfold

Today kicks off Pro qualifying, and, of course, what's got everyone in a tizzy is that Indy marks the final event of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series' 18-race regular season that will set the 10-driver Countdown to 1 fields for the six-event playoffs, so there's a ton on the line above and beyond the thrill and spectacle of racing at NHRA's biggest, oldest, richest, and most prestigious drag race. Two spots each are open in Top Fuel and Funny Car and three each in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle and, by my reckoning, there are 16 drivers gunning for those 10 places.

Kurt Johnson will clinch his berth just by making a Pro Stock qualifying run today and Top Fuel's Doug Kalitta and Funny Car's Mike Neff will clinch if they qualify for Monday's eliminations.

Last year's U.S. Nationals was chock full of Countdown drama. In Top Fuel, Morgan Lucas needed to qualify to stay in the hunt but surprisingly missed the field, locking teammates Kalitta and Dave Grubnic into the Countdown. In Pro Stock, Greg Stanfield entered the event in the final spot but failed to qualify, leaving the door open for six-time Indy winner Warren Johnson. "All" that W.J. had to do was reach the final to bump Stanfield out, but "that punk," Dave Connolly, sent "the Professor" packing in round one.

The real drama though was in Pro Stock Motorcycle, where Karen Stoffer and Hector Arana were battling for the final spot in the Countdown. Miraculously, the stars aligned in qualifying and the two had to face off in a winner-take-all first-round battle, which Stoffer won on a holeshot, 7.019 to 7.017.

This year, Kalitta's position obviously a little more safe, so the final spot will probably go to either 10th place Clay Millican or 11th place Joe Hartley. Those last two are separated by just three points, so even the results of qualifying could mean the difference. As much as I'd like to see the Hartley family rewarded for their brave assault on the complete schedule this year, Millican will be a tough out. Nothing against Millican because I like him a lot, but I was thinking it would be cool if Hartley had squeaked in there if for no other reason than to reward the gumption that he and his dad showed by tackling the entire NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series  tour this year. They deserve some kind of medal.  So why do I think Hartley will just miss? Well, unless he DNQs (could happen) Kalitta is too far out of reach with an 86-point edge on Hartley. Millican is just three spots ahead but his crew chief, Lance Larsen, is getting assistance from good pal Brian Corradi, who just happens to be the tuner for points leader Antron Brown. That's not good news for the Hartleys.

Clay Millican

However, because there are just three points separating then, this could all be decided in qualifying. If Hartley can earn three more points than Millican in qualifying (a top half for him, bottom half for Millican) and both lose in the same round, Hartley might have a shot. Millican has twice qualified No. 4 this year (season high) and has a qualifying average of ninth, but he's been 11th twice and 13th once in the last five events. Although Hartley's season best is a No. 2 (at the opener in Pomona), he's averaged a No. 11 this season and been in the bottom half of the field at 15 of 17 events.

In Funny Car, Force's teammate, perennial championship contender Robert Hight, has a tall mountain to climb if he wants to go from 12th place to 10th. Standing in his way are 11th place Matt Hagan, who's having a great rookie season, and defending season champ Cruz Pedregon, who's having a dismal year yet still clings to the final position. Hight's teammate, Neff, technically has not locked up a spot yet but is comfortably in ninth. My money is on Hight, but it's going to take a monster performance.

Warren Johnson

Pro Stock boils down to just two drivers, veteran W.J. and hard-charging Johnny Gray. Gray was just the runner-up in Brainerd while Johnson ahs struggled all year. In W.J.'s corner certainly lies experience and six Indy Wallys; Gray has Mopar power brokers Allen and Roy Johnson slinging the wrenches for him. It's a toss-up, but I think W.J. will hang on.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Michael Phillips, Shawn Gann, and Karen Stoffer are within 41 points in places eight through 10 and former two-time Indy winner Steve Johnson is just two markers behind Stoffer. Phillips has a hot bike right now and should be fine, and I think Stoffer will turn around her tough year behind the handlebars with a good enough performance to hang in there, too.

Steve Johnson is less than a round behind Gann and even though Johnson doesn’t have quite the bike he had when he won here last year, I still like his chances of catching Gann and bumping him from the field.

The drama begins at 5:30 tonight.
 

The news never stops, even for travel

So there we were, taxiing to the gate after landing in Dallas en route to Indy. I turned on the cellphone to check for messages. Our managing editor, Juan Torres, wanted to know about the order of some stories for next week's issue of National DRAGSTER and Michael Padian from the Media Dept. wanted to confirm the timing of a press release for NHRA.com. I replied and then the phone started ringing; it was Elon Werner, publicist for John Force Racing. I make a rule of not talking on the phone in a crowded airplane, so I texted him back that I would call him when I got into the terminal, but my curiosity got the better of me, so listened to his voice mail.

"Phil, just wanted to let you I know I just shot you a release about the medical condition of [snap … crackle …. pop]. Can you get it posted on NHRA.com as soon as possible?"

Huh? Wait. What?

I texted him: "Who?"

"Coil."

Damn. What could it be? Heart attack? Car accident? Roller skating injury?

I broke my rule and speed-dialed him back and got the info, which was not great but not horrible, and at least allayed my worst fears. I mean, hey, roller skating can be dangerous.

(The last time our phones rang getting off an airplane, Kelly, Brad, and I had just landed in Cleveland en route to Norwalk when we heard that Michael Jackson had died!)

So Austin Coil was going to have to sit out The Big Go and tune from his hospital bed? Robert Hight is going to be reunited with Jimmy Prock for their last-ditch shot at making the Countdown (pretty poetic, I think), and Bernie Fedderly will tune for John Force with assistance from Guido Antonelli? Got it.

Fortunately I had borrowed an air card from the IT department for this weekend (okay, I borrowed it last weekend for my trip to Sonoma but "forgot" to turn it in, but who's counting?) so I grabbed a spot in the lobby just outside the gate and got to work posting it while Kelly and Candida sought out a lunch spot for us.

We keep a folder of homepage "teaser" photos on our laptops for just this occasion, but I didn’t have one of Coil, so I used one of Hight just to get the story live while I connected to NHRA's servers to root around for a proper Coil photo.

The gals had grabbed us a spot at TGIFriday's, and after we ordered I went to work creating a better homepage photo of Coil, using a composite of a vertical headshot and a Force car pic. The challenges were many: Download a couple of huge high-rez photos; email them to my web account; work with PhotoShop's lasso tools with a touchpad instead of a mouse (you try it!) to produce an outline of Coil; and try not to spill a Diet Coke in my keyboard. Kelly Wade, camera ever at the ready, captured the moment (and immediately posted it to her Facebook wall!)

It's going to be a weird Indy without Coil, who first captured headlines here in 1982 when he tuned Frank Hawley and the Chi-Town Hustler to a huge win at the Big Bud Shootout, a payday that no doubt kept the Hustler on the road to the season championship that year and the next.

I'm sure Coil had a lot of things on his agenda this year, not the least of which is getting his car qualified for the U.S. Nationals, which he had been unable to do the last two years, and helping teammate Hight get into the Countdown to 1.

I have no doubts that the multiple layers of redundancy built into the Force camp (let's not forget that Mike Neff also was a crew chief) and while I'd never say they won't feel the impact of Coil's absence, I'm sure his telephone tune-ups and the massive amount of talent in the JFR camp will see them through.
 

Well, here we go again ...

It's T-minus one day for the launch of the 55th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, and the National DRAGSTER staffers are typing their little fingers off to finish this week's work early so we can all grab the dry cleaning, pack the suitcase, and hop an eastbound MD-80 Thursday morning.

This will be the fifth straight year that members of National DRAGSTER will be sharing their Indy observations, thoughts, and memories on NHRA.com through a series of dedicated blogs. ND Senior Editor Kevin McKenna, Associate Editors Candida Benson, Brad Littlefield, and Kelly Wade, and yours truly will be scouring the grounds at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis looking for tales to share from behind the scenes of NHRA's biggest, oldest, richest, and most prestigious drag race. To get your juices flowing with a preview of what kind of stuff you can expect, you can find last year's blogs here, and if you’re interested, here are the links for 2007, 2006, and 2005 as well.

It's my 27th straight U.S. Nationals, and I'm every bit as giddy as I was for my first, way back in 1983, when Tony Schumacher wasn't even old enough to drive a street car let alone a Top Fueler. Yeah, me and Indy go back a ways.

I'll be sharing that 27th anniversary with 26-year-old Tyler Moore, whose grandma, Indy local Peggy Verhonik, will be enjoying the Big Go again with him. Wait. What? A 26-year-old enjoying his 27th Indy? Explained Verhonik, whose parents owned the first dragstrip in Terre Haute, Ind., in the 1960s, "He was on my lap with big red headphones and a diaper every day of the 1983 Nationals but was not 1-year-old until two months later. He has not missed a day since and does not ever plan to miss the event." They'll be watching from the top row of the Top Eliminator Club, where they've been every year since 1988.

Our consecutive-Indy streaks, though, are nothing compared to that of super fan Bill Nelson, whom I met a few years ago at Indy and who will be attending his 50th straight U.S. Nationals. He's promised me a cold drink and some warm hospitality, so I'll be sure to take him up on that.

Yesterday, the 10-day forecast was calling for high 70s clear through until Monday, with nary a drop of rain in sight, but you know the old saying – "Welcome to the Midwest; if you don’t like the weather, stick around. It will change." – and the forecast has, but I have a good feeling about this U.S. Nationals.

There are going to be a lot of things worth watching this weekend, not the least of which is the battles for the final berths in the Countdown playoffs and whether Tony Schumacher, who has won the Big Go seven times, can go eight for 10 and tie "Big Daddy" Don Garlits as the event's winningest Top Fuel driver.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and predict that this is the year that Ron Capps finally wins the U.S. Nationals. Although he's had success in the various Shootouts at Indy, he's never done well come Monday – in fact, he's never reached the final round – but he has a six-time Indy winner, crew chief Ed McCulloch, in his corner. Brad did a nice feature on the two for the souvenir program that's for sale at the event, so be sure to check it out.

I've already gone on record in our preseason predictions that this also is going to be Capps' year to win the championship, and my old pal sure has made me look good this year so far with five wins and two runner-ups. It will take a small miracle (like an event win, maybe?) for him to overtake Tony Pedregon's 73-point lead to enter the playoffs as the top seed, but, hey, this is Indy, where incredible things happen, right?

I can’t wait.