Tue, 28 Oct 2008, 07:18 PM Let's Give Credit

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2008 Auto Imagery, Inc.

I have been around drag racing for over forty years and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Over the course of that time I have been involved with and seen a lot of very good drag racing promoters and, unfortunately, a lot of bad ones. I have seen great race tracks (big and small) and tracks that I wish I had never seen. I have been through the gas crisis of the '70's when tracks (and all other forms of entertainment) had to adjust the way they did business in order to survive. I also made it through the bad stock market crash back in 1987 and, to a lesser extent, the one in 2000. I have witnessed troubled financial times and times when tracks and race teams couldn't seem to get any sponsorship because of the Olympics, the Super Bowl or other mega-events that were siphoning dollars away from auto racing. And during all of those moments I saw the good operators survive and thrive while the bad operators closed up shop. It's always easy to blame your troubles on outside events when, the truth of the matter is, you were probably in trouble long before any of those other things even took shape. I bring this up because, lately, there has been a lot of talk about how tough it is to get and keep sponsorships. Even the hallowed lanes of NASCAR are starting to thin out

Don Garlits, John Bandimere and Judy Lilly

because of the economy, or so the talk goes. The truth of the matter may be that NASCAR, or other entities, just aren't giving the return on the investment that they should. Eventually you reach a point of diminishing returns when a NASCAR sponsorship or an ad in the Super Bowl simply aren't worth the money. Having said all of that I want to congratulate the folks at Bandimere Speedway in Denver for renewing their sponsorship with Mopar, or the other way around. For the 21^st consecutive year Mopar will sponsor the national event at Bandimere next year and you know why? Because it's a good investment and they get a good return on their dollar. And do you know why that's true? Because the Bandimere family knows how to run a race track, a track they run like any good business should be run. They do a wonderful job, treat their fans and their sponsors in such a way that they all want to keep coming back. And, in these troubled financial times, it's nice to know that good business gets rewarded. Congratulations to the Bandimere family and we look forward to at least three more years of partnership with the folks at Mopar and the NHRA Full Throttle national event in Colorado.

I continually mention some of the tracks that I think do a wonderful job for everyone involved and the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway definitely is high on that list. It's always a pleasure to go there and you know that the fans and the sponsors will get their money's worth. This week will be no exception and there is a lot of activity going on around town even before the event gets underway. It all starts with the great Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament at the Cannery Hotel and Casino on Wednesday night. With drivers like Brandon Bernstein, Morgan Lucas and Cory McClenathan (among others) participating, it's a great opportunity for the fans to stop by, meet the racers and, if you're so inclined, participate in the poker tournament which raises money for the Speedway Children's Charities. It's a fun night that has become a real part of the tradition at

Fremont Street last year.

this event and everyone always has a great time. Well, everyone except those who lose early in the poker tournament (names withheld to protect the innocent).The activity really swings into high gear with the fan fest on Thursday night. To be held at the Fremont Street Experience, this will be the second consecutive year that the Fan Fest has been held at this historic location. Last year, you may recall, it was a huge success and it should only get bigger (if that's possible) and better this year. Everyone is invited and it will take place from 6 to 8 P.M. on Thursday night. Last year there were about twenty drivers who attended, and from what I hear there will be at least that many this year. If you're coming to Las Vegas for the race make sure the Fan Fest is on your schedule...Also on Thursday there will be a big fan party and car show at Monaco of Las Vegas. This will be

Stevie Wong

an all day affair with activities beginning at 4:00 and lasting until about 10. Street rods, race cars, show cars, exotic cars (which is the same as street cars in Vegas) will be on display as well as several of the NHRA drivers who will be signing autographs. That'll take place at Monaco of Las Vegas on Dean Martin Drive and it is open to the public..On Friday at the track there will be a kid's Halloween costume contest and, if we're lucky, Stevie Wong, the Division 6 announcer, will show up in his award-winning costume, the same one he wore last week in Boise, Idaho because it's a show-stopper, believe me. The contest will take place between 2:30 and 3:30 and kids will be invited to go trick or treating in the pits after the final round of qualifying on Friday (which should end around 6). Sounds like fun, especially if Stevie shows up!!

Tony Schumacher

Of course the main attraction this week in Las Vegas will be the fifth race of the "Countdown to 1" championship series. The Top Fuel class is basically over and Tony Schumacher should wrap up his sixth title before the first round of eliminations on Sunday. All he has to do is qualify for the field, something he has done for 129 consecutive races now, and he will be the champ....again. After that the only thing remaining in the Top Fuel class will be the official announcement by Alan Johnson about who will be driving his car next year. There really isn't any rush for Alan to make the announcement since he probably won't have to be doing a lot of testing next year and since we know the driver will have a lot of driving experience. The way I see it, Alan and (fill in name of your guess for his driver here) will be able to roll out of the trailer and onto the track at Pomona next year and they'll qualify in the top half of the field and then probably go rounds on Sunday. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First Tony and Alan and the rest of the Army team have some

Greg Anderson in '04.

unfinished business to attend to, like winning more races this year. As it stands right now they have won fourteen of the twenty-two races this year and they have won an amazing seventy-one rounds. They have also been in seventeen final rounds and that, in itself, is an amazing number. So, like I said, they have some unfinished business to attend to this week. Did you know that Greg Anderson holds the record for the most wins in a single season with fifteen? That means the "Sarge" has two races to tie or break Greg's mark. Greg also won seventy-six rounds in 2004 and that means Tony has to win five more to tie that mark. Tony has said on several occasions, that since this is his last year with Alan, he would like to put records in the books that may never be broken and he's very close to doing just that. Of course, as we all know, records are made to be broken but if someone is going to break these records they may have to have a few more races added to the schedule. By the way, did you know that Greg Anderson set his records in 2004 when there were twenty-three races on the schedule? Of course a lot of the records are possible because of the number of races on the schedule but that doesn't take away from what the Army car has done this year. As a follower of the sport for a long time I'm not sure I have ever seen a more

Bob Glidden in '78.

dominant car over such a sustained period of time than the Army car. OK, so let the discussion begin, just who has had the best year ever? Greg Anderson in 2004? Greg went to nineteen final rounds in the twenty-three race season for a final round percentage of 87%. He won fifteen of those races which is 65%. John Force in 1996? John went to 84% of the final rounds that year and he won 68% of the races. Matt Hines in 1998? Matt had a fantastic year in '98, winning 71% of the races that year and making it to 87% of the final rounds in the motorcycle class. Then you have to throw in Bob Glidden who went to 100% of the final rounds in 1978 and who won 78% of them. That was a nine race year but it doesn't change the numbers or how dominant Bob was. And any discussion has to include Don Prudhomme who went to 100% of the final rounds in 1976 and won 88% of them. Hmmm, now

Don Prudhomme in '76

that I put it like that it seems like we certainly have had some drivers with great years in the past, haven't we? Nonetheless, to win as many races as Tony has over twenty-two races puts him in a category all by himself, and the way he has performed this year, he's likely to stay there by himself for many years to come.

The Las Vegas race will prove to be very important in the battle for the Funny Car championship, and since it comes at the next to last race of the year it will be a race that will be remembered as a very pivotal one in the battle for the championship. Of course, in truth, every round at Z-Max Dragway was just as important as the rounds this week and that's why, at the end of the year, Tim Wilkerson will remember North Carolina regardless of how he finishes the season. If you recall, Tim lost in

Wilkerson vs. Force

the first round in North Carolina to Ashley Force and he dropped from first to fifth in the standings after that race. But that's all in the past and the Funny Car class is so competitive that I don't think anything will be decided this week unless we have a first round like the one we had in Las Vegas last year when most of the challengers for the crown were beaten in round one. Most, but not Tony Pedregon. Tony won the round and the race and he used that as a springboard to the championship. With the class as competitive as it is you can look for some great matchups in round one and you can also look for some of the teams who are not in the "Countdown" to be a factor this week. Does anyone really want to line up against Del Worsham in round one? Or Melanie Troxel, who is running as well as she has all year long right now? Or the resurgent Tommy Johnson? I didn't think so.As we have seen in the past few

Tommy Johnson

weeks, once we see the final qualifying order I think we'll see some key round one matches and get an idea of who has the "easy" side of the ladder. That is, if there is such a thing in the Funny car class this year. In Charlotte the key round one match was between Ashley and Tim. In Dallas it was Tim and Ron Capps. In Memphis the key first round battles were between Jack Beckman and Tony Pedregon along with Robert Hight and Ron Capps. And, at the last race in Virginia, there were several key encounters including the ones between Robert and John Force, Ron Capps and Mike Neff and Tim and Ashley. Mark my words, there will be at least one and probably more "monster matchups" in round one this week and they will determine who the leaders are going into Pomona. They may also determine which drivers are eliminated from title contention..As much as I have tried I can't seem to pick a favorite in the FC class right now, although it's always easy to go with the guy who is in the lead and that would be Tim Wilkerson. The pressure is certainly on the other drivers since they have to gain ground on him, but a little slip and it could be a whole new ball game in the race for the championship.

Jeg Coughlin

Greg Anderson is the only one of the four professional drivers who "won" the regular season but is not in the lead right now. Greg knows that his work is cut out for him since he is not only trying to catch Jeg Coughlin, but he also has to get past Kurt Johnson and Dave Connolly who are currently second and third in the points if he wants to win his fourth championship. Jeg would have to be considered the real favorite since he has a huge (for this time of the year) seventy-four point lead over the field. It almost looks like someone would have to take him out in round one if the rest of the contenders want to have a shot at keeping Jeg from winning consecutive championships. And, just for the record, did you know that over the course of his career Jeg has won seventy-five percent of his first round matches? He is an amazing 166 - 55 in his first round matches so getting him out of the show early is easier said than done...Like the Funny Car class, first round matches will be very important this week. I would guess that Greg and Dave, and possibly Kurt, wouldn't mind a round one race with Jeg, after all, you can't catch him by beating him in the last round so someone has to take him out early or Jeg could just about put this thing out of reach in Las Vegas....If past history is any indication there should be a bunch of Pro Stock teams in Arizona testing this week. The venue

Rodger Brogdon

would be Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson which has hosted several test sessions in the past. With its slightly elevated location the track gives the teams an idea of what to expect when they come to Las Vegas....Rodger Brogdon will be one of the drivers testing there and he'll have the new engine from the Steve Kent shop in his car. Rodger said that, "We just want to see where we are relative to the other Pro Stock teams this year." The team plans to run the entire 2009 season and getting to run a couple of races before the end of the year will give them an indication of where they stand in the all-important power department....Congratulations to Jim and Toni Yates who are now grandparents. Son Jamie and his wife, Cynthy, have a baby boy, Ryan James, and to quote Jim, "Mom and little dude are doing great."

Matt Smith

Matt Smith is the leader in the motorcycle class but his edge over Eddie Krawiec is only forty-two points, or a little more than two rounds. Since Matt almost always qualifies in the top half of the field it looks like Eddie will have to win three more rounds than Matt over the next two races if he wants to win the championship. Did you know that Matt has qualified in the top three spots at twelve of the races this year? Included in that group are six number one spots and, if he does that this week, that puts the pressure squarely on Eddie. By comparison, Eddie has three top spots this season to his credit and he could really use one of them in Las Vegas. To pick up three points and get the deficit to fewer than two rounds, Eddie needs to qualify at least three spots higher than Matt and that won't be easy. For the record, Eddie has qualified higher than Matt at Norwalk, Denver and Dallas this year. With the new format for both qualifying and the "Countdown" the run for the championship is going to be very exciting in all the classes and especially in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Bill Reichert

There was only one Lucas Oil division race this past weekend and it turned out to be big for a couple of drivers. Bill Reichert won the race and, in the process, clinched his third consecutive world championship and he did it in style. Bill was the top qualifier and he set the track record en route to the win over Bill Evans. With the win Bill shuts out Jim Whiteley, who has had a great season, but who will come up a little short in his bid for the championship..Scott Benham, who was featured in my Thursday column last week, went a few rounds at the D-2 race but not enough to keep his title hopes alive. By my unofficial stats, since Scott did not make it to the final round that gives the Competition Eliminator World Championship to Dan Fletcher....While he didn't clinch the championship in Georgia Billy Leber sure made a big jump in the points in the Super Stock ranks. Billy won the race and he is now in third place behind the leader, Ricky Decker and Jimmy DeFrank. Billy needs to win his last points race in order to tie Ricky but they both have to hope that Jimmy doesn't go rounds (like six) at Vegas this week, Vegas next week at the points race or Pomona in two weeks. That's because Jimmy can claim all three of those races and he is only twelve points behind Decker. Should be fun.

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