Wed, 11 Nov 2009, 03:56 AM And The Champions Are...

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2009 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Jenkins, Muldowney, Frey, Garlits Force, Prudhomme and Glidden

To close one subject before I talk about the upcoming race at Pomona, I wanted to say what a great time everyone had at the SEMA breakfast last week. I know I talked about it last week but that was before the event, and even with all of the hype going into it I had no idea how successful it would be. Over the years I've hosted a lot of these special NHRA-sponsored gatherings, including last year's "Women in Drag Racing" and the wildly successful one featuring the top Pro Stock legends a few years ago, but I must say nothing approached this year's event. The crowd was huge, the drivers were funny and the entire affair was simply wonderful. Of course, how could you go wrong when you have Don Garlits, John Force, Don Prudhomme, Bob Glidden, Shirley Muldowney and Bill Jenkins on the panel? The only thing wrong was that we didn't have more time to listen to them tell their stories, pick on each other and entertain the guests with stories of their drag racing careers. One of the highlights of the morning came very early when I introduced "Big Daddy" and almost everyone in the crowd, including those on the podium, gave him a standing ovation. It was, in short, one of the really nice affairs that I have been involved with and I want to thank everyone at NHRA who was involved with putting it together, all the folks at SEMA, the fans who stopped by and, especially, the great drivers who shared their stories and gave their time to the event. The only problem now is, what do you do for an encore next year?...By the way, after the gathering the drivers all went to the main court in the SEMA show and signed autographs and that, too, was a big success. The session, which was scheduled to last about an hour, ran almost two full hours because of the amount of fans who wanted to see these legends. It was great!! Now, on to Pomona.

Schumacher vs. Dixon

The Top Fuel class has been narrowed down to three drivers, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon and Cory McClenathan. I know that Antron Brown is eighty points back and that he could make that up at one event, but when you have to pass three other drivers to get to the top it may be possible but it's not very likely to happen. And if "AB" goes on to win the championship I'll be the first one to congratulate him and say I was wrong. Tony, Larry and Cory all have to be looking forward to the weekend because they all have a shot at the championship. Tony is looking for an amazing sixth consecutive championship and his seventh overall while Larry will be gunning for his third title, and the first since 2003. Cory, meanwhile, is still looking for that elusive first national championship after finishing second on four different occasions. Did you know that Cory has finished in the top ten sixteen times? Even though he has never won the championship, anyone who makes the top ten sixteen times has had a great career. The interesting thing about these three is that both Tony and Larry have won five races this year while Cory has won just once. Still, going into Pomona all three have a great shot at winning the championship and it should be one of the more exciting weekends that we've had at Pomona in a while. Now that's saying something, since we have had some great finishes lately including that dramatic final in 2006. That's the year that Tony went to the final round needing to set the national record in order to take the championship away from Doug Kalitta. He did and the rest, as they say, is history. Both Tony and Larry began the year in new situations, Tony with Mike Green and a new Army crew, and Larry with Alan Johnson, Tony's former crew chief, and an entirely new team. For those two to come this far and have a chance to battle each other for the championship is very impressive. For his part, Cory is in a familiar spot, the spot of a challenger and he relishes the opportunity to possibly win the championship. A lot of what is going to happen could be determined in qualifying when the ladders are set, and some of the early parings could be interesting. I don't know what I would rather see, the contenders meet early and settle it in the first round, or wait until the championship round where two of them could go head-to-head. If they should meet along the way that would seem to favor Tony. Did you know that he has a winning record against both Cory (26-14) and Larry (32-27)?..All three of the contenders have done well at this

McClenathan vs. Schumacher

event in the past. Did you know that Tony has four wins and that's tied for the most in the history of this event in Top Fuel? Cory has won it twice, including that wild 1992 season, while Larry has won it once and is the defending event champion. If Cory feels a bit of deja vu this weekend you can excuse him. Did you know that in 1992 he came into the last race of the year in third place? He trailed Joe Amato and Kenny Bernstein and he needed to win the race and set the record to get the title (where have we heard that before?). Kenny lost in round one and Joe lost in round two and that's when Cory knew what he had to do to win it all, but when he failed to run quick enough in the semi-finals to either set or back-up the record, the championship went to Joe. By the way, if you're talking to Cory this weekend, don't mention 1992 and the fact that he skipped the Montreal race, and if he had only showed up there he would have been the champ. Really, don't mention it....A word to the drivers, if I may. If you want to win this week don't, I repeat don't qualify number one. Did you know that in the forty-five years of this race the number one qualifier has only won eight times, and of those eight, only three have happened in the last thirty-three years? Shirley Muldowney won from the number one spot in 1976 and then we went all the way until 2001 before Kenny Bernstein won from the top spot. And I will tell you one more thing, and that is if you want to win you better qualify in the top three spots. Did you know that the winner at this final race of the year has come from the top three spots half of the time? Just a little suggestion from yours truly!!...However it turns out it should be a lot of fun for the racers and the fans alike. OK, so it will be more fun for the fans and more nerve racking for the drivers and the teams.

Hight vs. Force Hood

The Funny Car class is all but over. Robert Hight has a 105 point lead and he would have to not show up to lose the championship. By virtue of his strong showing in the Countdown Robert has put himself in position to win his first national championship. For a guy who almost didn't even make the Countdown, Robert's rise to the top is the thing that legends are made of, and his three wins in the last five races are an indication that he has the best car in the class right now. The only thing he has to do now is close the deal with a win at his sponsor's race at the track his sponsor supports....One thing we know for sure is that John Force is going to finish no better than ninth in the points. That's because John is ninth right now and, since he exceeded his testing limits with a test session in Las Vegas last week, he won't pick up any more points in Pomona. Did you know that this will be John's lowest finish in the points since he finished 13^th in 1984? In that year John went to ten races and won a grand total of five rounds. John does have one big goal in mind, well besides having Robert clinch the championship. Did you know that he has won at least one race every year since 1987? He has also been to at least one final round every year since 1985, so he has a lot to shoot for even if he isn't in the running for the championship. Did you know that this will be John's 28^th

John Force

appearance at the NHRA Finals, and that his first one came back in 1978? John, driving the Leo's Stereo / Wendy's Corvette that year, qualified seventh at that race and lost to Gordie Bonin in round one. Among the drivers who failed to qualify at that event were Ed McCulloch, John Lombardo and Gary Burgin. Wow, that's a nice little group to be not racing on Sunday. ....Even though he won't win the championship, the fact that he had all four of his cars in the Countdown and that Robert and Ashley contended for the title right down to the last race, is very impressive. It will be interesting to see what, if any changes are made in Team Force in 2010. Now don't call me up or flag me down in the pits, because I'm not saying there will be any changes, it's just that, with that many teams, there is usually something happening.. The Funny Car drivers do want to qualify at the top of the pack since that is the spot that has produced the most wins. Did you know that nine times the winner in the FC class has come from the

Tripp Shumake

number one spot at this race? That includes Eddie Schartman who won in 1966 at Tulsa and Gene Snow who won in Dallas in 1970. And just another little tip for the guys and gals in the Funny Cars, you don't want to qualify eighth. As hard as it may be to believe, no Funny Car driver has ever won the NHRA Finals after qualifying in the number eight spot. In fact, only twice has a driver who started eighth in the field even made it to the final round and it's only happened once in the last twenty-seven years. Tripp Shumake in 1979 and Kenny Bernstein in 1982 went to the final round from the eighth spot but both failed to win. Like I often say, what are the odds?...There is a real battle for positions two through eight in the FC class and that should be worth watching this week. While they say "no one remembers who finishes second," I'm sure the teams, the owners, the drivers and the sponsors do, and let's face it, it's much better to say you finished second than eighth, isn't it?...If there is ever a driver who surely doesn't like the Countdown it has to be Ron Capps. No matter what happens this weekend Ron will, once again, have the most wins of anyone in the Funny Car class and still won't win the championship. What's a guy gotta do to win around here?

Mike Edwards

If you like Robert Hight's chances in the Funny Car class you must love Mike Edwards' chances in Pro Stock. Mike is a comfortable 139 points up on Greg Anderson and it would take an act of Congress for him not to win. And since we all know how quickly (and efficiently) Congress acts, well, you get the idea. Mike really does just have to show up and qualify and the title is his, and if you want to bet against him making the show please meet me behind the tower at Pomona. Mike, who won the Modified Eliminator title back in 1981 is poised to become just the 15^th driver in the history of the class to win a Pro Stock championship. Did you know that this will be Mike's ninth top ten finish in the dozen years that he has competed for the full season in Pro Stock? Mike will share the championship podium with another driver who also won back in 1981, Frank Manzo. It's been a great year for Mike and he has had the best car all season, and it's hard for anyone to say that he doesn't deserve the championship. Of course, like the FC class, the driver with the most wins won't win the title. Did you know that Jeg Coughlin has seven wins this year compared to Mike's five? But Jeg has struggled in the playoffs while Mike has done well, just like Robert in the FC class. Still, when you have the most wins of anyone in any pro class, it's tough not to win the championship

Edwards vs. Coughlin

and I'm sure that's how Jeggie feels going into this last race. For the record, Mike has won more rounds than Jeg (51 to 50) this year and been to more final rounds (10 to 9) so it's not like he backed into the championship. On the contrary, he has been the top qualifier an amazing fifteen times and that's just one short of Greg Anderson's record from 2004. He has also set low elapsed time sixteen times and top speed on fourteen occasions. Did you know that, coming into 2009, Mike had set low e/t exactly twice and top speed four times in his Pro Stock career? If I had a vote for the "Most Improved" racer, I would have to vote for Mr. Edwards...While Jeg has won seven races and is in fifth place coming into Pomona, how about the other side of the spectrum, Greg Stanfield. Did you know that Greg is in fourth place and hasn't won a race this year? Greg has been to three final rounds and continues to go rounds at almost every event and he, and his team, have done a lot with what they have had to work with this year....While I don't claim to know everything (no comments, please) I will say this, I fully expect there to be some major changes in the Pro Stock ranks before the 2010 season begins. And I mean major....Stay tuned....Warren Johnson will be making his 31^st appearance at the NHRA Finals and that's the most by anyone in a pro class. WJ's first Finals came back in 1975 when he failed to make the field, a field that was paced by Bill Jenkins (8.790) and Bob Glidden (8.800). Those two also just happened to meet in the final round, a round that was won by Bob on a very slight holeshot....It shouldn't be surprising that those two squared off for the money. Did you know that in the previous thirty-nine years of this race (for Pro Stocks) the top two qualifiers have won it an amazing twenty-six times in Pro Stock? And here's a stunning little statistic. Did you know that in all the years of running Pro Stock at the NHRA Finals, and that's thirty-nine years, the Pro Stock class has never, that's never been won by a driver who qualified in the bottom half of the field.? In fact, in only six of those thirty-nine years did a driver from the bottom half even make it to the final round. Hard to believe, but true!!

Arana vs. Krawiec

The Pro Stock Motorcycle class is down to two riders, Hector Arana and Eddie Krawiec. Hector's story is a lot like Mike's, that is, he has been racing for a while but has never been a serious threat to win the championship until now. But unlike Mike, Hector's last visit to the top ten was back in 1997. Coming into 2009 Hector had qualified number one exactly once, and this year he has done it seven times already. Coming into the year he had been to a grand total of three final rounds and won one of them. This year he has been to six finals and won five....For his part Eddie has had his best season, picking up five wins compared to none last year when he won the championship. Since Hector also has five wins I guess it's the two best bikes, riders and teams slugging it out for the championship. I just hope it isn't decided by a red light, as so many of the motorcycle races have been this year. I know, it's all part of the game, but I hope whoever wins it wins it by having the best bike on Sunday. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?...Did you know that Eddie has won forty-two rounds of racing this year and that matches the total for his entire career coming into 2009? It only took twenty-seven round wins last year to win the championship, so by every measure Eddie has had a better year this year than he did last. Of course that could all change if he doesn't win the championship..I don't see much swapping of positions going on in the top five in the bike class, that is, unless Eddie catches and passed Hector. The other three, Andrew Hines, Matt Smith and Michael Phillips could all finish the week exactly where they started it, unless someone makes a big move..It's been a good year in the bike class and it will be interesting to see how Hector handles the pressure. Eddie has been there before and he may get a slight edge because of that, but Hector has had a very good bike, especially in the Countdown ,so he might get the edge there. Gee, based on that, it looks like it could end in a tie.

Bill Reichert

Bill Reichert made it four in a row when he clinched the Top Alcohol Dragster title in Las Vegas. Making a stop at the Lucas Oil Division 7 race, Bill qualified opposite Jim Whiteley and they met in round one. When Jim got the win he still had a shot at the title, but when Hillary Will beat him in round two it was all over. Nice try, Jim, and congratulations to Bill....Jimmy DeFrank and Jim Perry also wrapped up national championships in Vegas. Jimmy, who was in the lead going into the race, went to the semi-finals, and when his closest challengers went out early, he claimed the Super Stock championship....For Jim Perry, it was an eight-round marathon that enabled him to win his first Lucas Oil Championship....

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