The Sportsman Champions
|
When I look back on the 2003 season I have to admire what the sportsman racers did and that
includes everything from adjusting their schedules in Gainesville and Dallas to traveling coast
to coast in search of that one big round win, or race win. And it seems that most of the racers
took all of the changes in stride realizing that the changes were necessary and were done in an
effort to make the best of a bad situation, most of which was caused by rain.
As I was presenting the Lucas Oil Champions their trophies at the award’s ceremony on Monday I
realized one thing, the race for a season championship really isn’t over until the very last
day. In 2002 the Super Gas title came down to the next to last run of the year and this year the
Super Comp title wasn’t decided until the next to last day of the season. I also realized that
no matter how comfortable a lead you may have, someone can catch you if they have a good couple
of races at the end of the season. Jack Beckman and Dean Carter weren’t even on the radar screen
in their classes until they blitzed the field in Las Vegas and racked up a ton of points. That
was pretty evident when I saw the videos at the award’s ceremony and noticed that Jack and Dean
were conspicuous by their absence. Of course, if the truth be told, when I did my summary of the
contenders a few weeks ago I don’t believe that I mentioned either one of them, so the film
editors can certainly be forgiven.
Greg Luneack
|
The combination of new and old champions is always very interesting, and this year we crowned
four new champs while three drivers continued to add to their legacies. Based on their numerous
titles and their performances this year Frank Manzo, Peter Biondo and Kevin Helms have to be
considered as the top racers in their classes right now. Frank and Kevin are making strong cases
for being the best ever in the Top Alcohol Funny Car and Stock Eliminator categories, while
Peter is certainly among the most versatile drivers in the sport. I know I’ll get arguments from
a lot of fans but if there are better guys than these three out there right now in their classes
I’d like to see them. Meanwhile, young Bryan Robinson, a.k.a. “Fish Head,” Beckman, Carter and
Alan Bradshaw, the Top Alcohol Dragster winner, all had great years and will be great
representatives for their classes. One thing they all had in common, new and old champs alike,
was their respect for Forest and Charlotte Lucas and the job that they have done as sponsors of
the sportsman series. To a man they all thanked the Lucas family and I can tell you that the
thanks came from the heart. When you see Mr. or Mrs. Lucas standing on the starting line during
Stock or Super Gas eliminator you know that they have a real love for the sport. Sure, as Forest
said, they are in this to sell oil, but one way of doing that is to meet the racers and make
them feel like they care….and they do.
There were so many great moments in the sportsman classes this year that it would be impossible
to mention them all, or even remember them all. I think next year I’ll keep a log of the races
right from the beginning so I can recall them at the end of the year. A couple that come to mind
are Shane Heckel’s great wheel standing run in Houston earlier this year, a run that saw him
shift the car in the air, carry the wheels to about half-track and then just miss qualifying for
the very quick Comp field. With all of that going on Shane still ran 6.941, which was “45” under
the index and he just barely missed the show but it was spectacular. Vern Moats wheel stand at
the same event, the one where all four wheels came off the ground was nothing short of amazing
as was the unbelievable wheel stand by Greg Luneack in Las Vegas. That one may have been the
biggest one ever in the history of the class, and just to show that it was no fluke, Greg did it
again, almost, at Pomona. Speaking of Pomona, Al Corda’s 9.974 run at the Winternationals was
pretty special and so was Harry Holton’s record setting SS/AA run in Las Vegas just a few weeks
ago. Hey, anyone who is 72 years old and can still set a national record has to get special
mention, plus, when you do it in a hemi ‘Cuda, well, that’s just icing on the cake. Marty
Thacker gets double credit for his wild run during qualifying at Indy and his final round match
with Duane Shields at the Las Vegas D-7 race. Both were spectacular. He and David Wells also get
props for going over 270 mph with their supercharged cars this year. Cool!! Cy Chesterman set
the national record in the alky funny car class at a stunning 5.531 in Chicago while Tony
Bartone grabbed the mark in the dragster class at 5.227. Tony did it at the first race of the
year and then saw the record stand for the entire season which, in itself, was amazing when you
consider the performance of the cars this year. John Gallina’s 7-second pass in a Super Stocker,
a 7.98 to be exact, also has to rank way up there on the list of great sportsman accomplishments
this year.
Al Vanis vs Nick Reiter
|
Two of the national champions get special mention for “doubling up” this year and, ironically,
they did it at the same race. Peter Biondo and Bryan Robinson both won two classes at the
Division 2 race in Bristol this year, and Peter, Bryan and Kevin Helms all won at the same race
this year, the D-2 affair at Silver Dollar Raceway. Jirka Kaplan has to get the nod for the most
amazing run in Competition Eliminator when he went 1.101 under the index at Mission Raceway in
August. He gets extra credit for going out and winning the race, too. Poor Maureen Jondahl was
.80 under the index at that race and only qualified second and then lost to Kaplan in the
finals. And David Rampy had a year that most drivers only dream about, winning eight races on
the national scene and adding a Stock Eliminator win to his list of accomplishments, giving him
wins in five different classes at the national event level. Now that’s pretty special. Special,
too, was Al Vanis winning at Englishtown in Stock Eliminator more than twenty-eight years after
taking his Pontiac Ventura to the winner’s circle at Indy which was his last national event win.
Like I said, I can’t remember all of the great runs from this year but I’ll try to do better
next season. 2004 is going to be a special year for the sportsman racers on the NHRA trail
because, well, I can’t tell you right now, but just let me say that you should watch for a
special announcement from NHRA real soon about a very special event for the sportsman racers in
2004. That’s all I can say besides congratulations to all of the sportsman racers across the
country, it was a great year. Now if only we could get Bucky Austin to come back to Maple Grove
next year!!
NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]
Feb 10- Wally Parks 75th Anniversary Appreciation Fund Part of $27 Million Overall Purse
Feb 08- NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League Releases 2026 Schedule
Feb 07- Huge List of Legends Set to Appear at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Feb 05- NHRA and Legends Global Extend Merchandise Partnership Ahead of 75th Anniversary Season
Feb 04- Doug Foley Announces Addition of Ron Douglas as Consultant to Foley Lewis Racing Top Fuel Team
Feb 04- Tickets Now on Sale for NHRA's Debut at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park and Rockingham Dragway
Feb 04- Reed, Zetterström to Share Driving Duties of Reed Trucking & Excavating Top Fuel Dragster
Jan 29- NHRA to Honor Iconic John Force in 2027 with "50 Years Of Force"
Jan 28- Top Fuel All-Star Callout Returns to Open NHRA's 75th Anniversary Season at Gatornationals
Jan 28- John Force Racing Announces Crew Chiefs for NHRA's 75th Anniversary Season
