Wed, 16 Jun 2010, 07:10 PM The Best Finals That Nobody Saw

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Neal Parker

The final rounds at the last two races, the ones in Joliet and Englishtown, have both been delayed by rain. In Joliet it was a few hours while the New Jersey race had to be held over for a day. In both cases, as you would expect, there weren't a lot of folks around at the end and that's a shame because both events featured great final rounds in the Full Throttle classes. Larry Dixon beat Antron Brown in Top Fuel in Jersey and that was a rather one-sided affair, but the Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle finals were all exciting with Bob Tasca, Mike Edwards and Michael Phillips all picking up wins....Of course no mention of the race would be complete without talking about the passing of Neal Parker. Neal was killed in an accident on Friday when his car ran off the end of the track after a qualifying run. I used to watch Neal run when I was announcing at Atco years ago and I ran into a lot of racers this weekend who raced against him at Atco, Englishtown and other tracks along the East Coast. Back then, Neal had a Fiat that he ran and he did some match-racing with it long before getting into his Top Alcohol Funny Car and it was a fun car to watch. He was a guy who loved to race and everyone around him enjoyed the day more when he was at the track. There are no words that can make this any easier for his wife and his family and all we can say is that he will be missed.

Dixon vs. Brown

Larry Dixon is having a very good year even by his standards. The win in New Jersey, the 54^th of his career and the sixth of the season, came over Antron Brown and it ran Larry's record in final rounds this year to 6-0. It was also the sixth win for Larry at the famous New Jersey track and that ties him with the great Joe Amato for first place in the E'town Top Fuel win list. Did you know that Larry has won four times at four different tracks but his six wins at Englishtown are the most for him at any one event? Larry has had better years with more wins (of course there are a lot of races still to go this year) but this is the first time he has ever won six consecutive finals in any year. To make the win even sweeter Larry beat some drivers with some great racing traditions and legacies, drivers with names like Chrisman, Schumacher and Bernstein. When you think about what drivers with those names have meant to the sport you can see how special Larry's win was. Plus, as he said after the race, "winning one of the 'majors' is always extra special." To my way of thinking,

Dixon vs. Schumacher

any race that has been part of the schedule for forty years is a major event. I still think it would be cool for a sponsor, let's say Full Throttle, to step up and make a million dollar offer to any driver who could win four of the majors. The Winternationals, Gainesville, Englishtown, Indy and the Auto Club Finals could be on the list and, if a driver won four of the five, he (or she) would hit the jackpot. Just a thought.His win over Tony Schumacher in round two marked the fifth consecutive race where the two stars have met and Larry is 3-2 in those meetings and his overall record against the "Sarge" is now 31-35. That is, and has been for a while, one of the great rivalries in the sport, and you expect to see them both going deep into the "Countdown" later on in the year. Larry's win was also just one of three for the Al-Anabi team and he was joined in the winner's circle by Frank Manzo (TAFC) and Von Smith (Pro Mod). It could have been even better for that team but Del Worsham was edged in the Funny Car final by Bob Tasca. Still, that's a pretty good day for everyone associated with the Al-Anabi race team... Larry has now been to ten final rounds at Englishtown and that's a bunch, especially when you consider the fact that he has raced there sixteen times. Did you know that in all of his years in New Jersey Larry has only faced Tony twice? They met back in 2006 and again this year and that's it. His four round wins this year ran Larry's total to an amazing 44-10 in the Garden State, and in case you're not good at math, that computes to an 81% winning average. Yikes!!.With his win Larry becomes the second driver to clinch a spot in the "Countdown," joining Mike Edwards who did it last week in Chicago..Cory McClenathan looked like he had a

Cory McClenathan

good chance to win the race, especially after making the quickest Top Fuel pass in history at 1,000 feet. The Fram dragster carded a spectacular 3.752 in qualifying and he coupled that up with a 324.75 mile per hour blast. Still, after getting the bye in round one, Cory wasn't able to beat Doug Kalitta and his day came to an early end. Cory did set low elapsed time and that's the 29^th time in his career that he has done that. Did you know that moves Cory into a tie for sixth place on the Top Fuel list, a list where he is tied with Doug Kalitta and Don Garlits....Even though he didn't win I have to include Cory in the "Big Three" this year. Did you know that we are eleven races into the season and we have only had three winners in the Top Fuel class, Larry, Cory and Tony? And did you know that, in the history

Terry McMillen

of Top Fuel, this is the furthest we have ever gone to start a season with only three winners? Anyone want to step up in Bristol this weekend?...Terry McMillen made the quarter-finals for the third straight race and that performance has moved him into the top ten for the first time this year. Nice job by Terry, Richard Hartman and the rest of Amalie / Wolverine team, and to say that Terry gets excited when he wins would be an understatement. I can't imagine what it will be like when he wins a race but I know that it will be fun.

Tasca III vs. Worsham

Bob Tasca won his third race when he beat Del Worsham in the final round. At first everyone thought that Del had won, but a little computer glitch caused the miscue, and in the end, Bob got the win. For a family that has had cars with their name on it go down the Englishtown track since the 1960's, this had to be an especially nice win for Bob. Plus, he was debuting his new Ford Parts.com car and the blue and white looked great in the winner's circle. Bob's win came on a slight holeshot, just the third of his career. Did you know that two of his holeshot wins have come against Del? As I often say, what are the odds?....Bob ran very well on race day and his 4.11 in the final round was the best of the day for him. He also ran 4.15, 4.17 and 4.16 and he beat both Ashley and John Force along the way. Throw in his semi-final win over Matt Hagan and it's easy to see why he hoisted the trophy at the end of the day..Robert Hight had the bye run in round one because of the short field and then he faced Del in round two, and when Robert smoked the tires his day was done. Did you know that this was the thirty-seventh time that Robert has qualified number one and he has won five times from the top spot? As hard as it is to believe, the number one qualifier in the Funny Car class has only won twice in the last twenty-three races, and both times it was Robert who did it. The last driver other than him to win from the top was Ron Capps at Denver last year. Hard to believe, but true...Jimmy Prock, the crew chief for Robert,

Force during prerace ceremonies.

is the son of Tom Prock, one of the early pioneers in the Funny Car class. Did you know that it was Tom who lost the final round at E'town back in 1975, and that was the race, the one and only race that "Jungle" Jim Liberman won on the NHRA tour?...Even though they didn't win the race, the Team Force cars had a productive weekend. With the Castrol headquarters nearby, the three drivers, John and Ashley Force and Robert Hight, spent a lot of time with the folks from Castrol and they entertained a bunch (that's a lot) of them at the track. This is the 25^th year for the partnership between John Force and Castrol and that's one of the longest running sponsorships in motorsports. I'm sure they would have liked to win the race, but a tip of the cap to the entire Team Force entourage for doing a great job over the course of those twenty-five years, for themselves, their sponsors and their fans.Did you know that this was only the third time this year that there wasn't a Team Force car in the finals of a race?

Edwards vs. Gray

What can you say about Mike Edwards that hasn't already been said? Mike is having his way with the Pro Stock field and he showed that again in Englishtown. Running from the number one spot Mike beat Justin Humphreys, Greg Anderson, Jeg Coughlin and Shane Gray to pick up his seventh win of the year. He also qualified number one, set low elapsed time and top speed which gives him five "sweeps" already in 2010. Mike has won the last three races by sweeping the events and that isn't easy to do with the level of competition that exists in Pro Stock. Did you know that the last driver to sweep three consecutive Pro Stock races was Greg Anderson when he did it back in 2004? Mike, who had a very good year in 2009, is having an even better year in 2010, and it looks like everyone else may be running for second place. Of course a lot can change between now and Pomona and there are a lot of really good teams pressing Mike every weekend, but the big question is, who is the main threat to his supremacy?...Allen Johnson continues to have a good car and he'll be playing a home game this week in Bristol, and as much as Allen and his dad, Roy, would love to win in Tennessee, they haven't had a lot of success there over the years, at least not in Pro Stock. Did you know that this will be the tenth race for the team

Shane vs. Johnny

in their home state and they have won exactly two rounds in that time? I will say this, though, they haven't come to Bristol with a car as good as the one they have this year and I think this could be their break-out weekend. The Mopar may be the most consistent threat to Mike, and if he can stay on the other side of the ladder from him, it could be Allen and Mike in the final round this weekend...Shane Gray continues to make steady improvement and he made it to his first final round in Englishtown. Even with only two real contenders for the Rookie of the Year title in 2010, both Shane and LE Tonglet are making strong bids for that honor. Based on his two last races, a semi-final and a runner-up, Shane has moved back into the top ten in the points and it sure looks like he's there to stay. Shane's race with his dad, Johnny, in the semi-finals was a very good one and they are to be commended for putting on an excellent race. With NTB and Tire Kingdom coming aboard for the year, the Gray family has a solid operation that looks like it could be a factor once the "Countdown" begins..I have to say that the addition of Jim Yates to that team looks like a very good move. With the experience he has and the way he can set up a car, Shane and Johnny look to have all the pieces in place to be competitive at every race.

Phillips vs. Johnson

Michael Phillips could be the sleeper in the field this year in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. Even before his win in Englishtown, Michael appeared to have a very good bike, one that can run with anyone in the class. Now, after his dominating performance, I have to think that he can make a serious run for the championship. Did you know that this was the first time that Michael ever qualified number one at an event? When he coupled that up with low elapsed time and top speed it also made it the first time that he has ever swept an event, but his great showing at Englishtown shouldn't come as a surprise. Did you know that since the Memphis race last year Michael has won three races and Andrew Hines is the only other Pro Stock Motorcycle rider to do that?...If Jim Yates is a big key for the Gray family then Craig Treble has to get some thanks for helping Michael. Michael said after the race that it was Craig who gave him some tips on how to set up the clutch on his bike, and since that time, everything has been going very well. I guess it has. Did you know that Michael won a total of sixteen rounds all last year and that he has already won twelve rounds in 2010? Racer's Edge has come on to help Michael as his primary sponsor, and right now, that's looking like a very good move..Steve Johnson was the runner-up in New Jersey and he did that despite running a career best time in the final round. Thanks to a better reaction time for the winner, Steve's 6.88 was not enough to hold off Michael's 6.91. Did you know that this was only the tenth holeshot loss for Steve in his entire career, and that includes 442 rounds of racing? Not bad, huh?...Even with the loss

Pat Musi

Steve showed that he has a very good bike, and this could be his best shot at winning a Full Throttle championship. Lincoln Tech was on the side of Steve's bike and let's hope that his final round appearance can help make that a long-term relationship....The last two races have featured all Suzuki final rounds and that hasn't happened in a long time. Did you know that the last time we had two Suzukis in back-to-back finals was in St. Louis and Englishtown 2005? I don't know about you but I think the Pro Stock Motorcycle class is wide open this year and it should be fun to watch once we get into the "Countdown."

It was another fine performance by the Get Screened America Pro Mod cars and it featured the return to NHRA action by Pat Musi. Even though he didn't win it was nice to see Pat in action, especially at one of his favorite tracks. Pat ran into the buzz-saw called Ray Commisso in the second round and he came out on the short end of the stick. Ray eventually faced Von Smith in the finals and Von went wire-to-wire for the win. Ray had earlier set low elapsed time with his qualifying effort of 5.815 while Brad Personett set top speed at 251.53. If they ever get that turbo car to run elapsed

Dina Parise

times like it does top speed, Brad will be almost untouchable, but until that time the Pro Mod class, like so many others this year, is wide open..Dina Parise made her Pro Mod debut, and even though she didn't qualify, she was a hit with the fans and she could turn into a crowd favorite before too long.The Pro Mods return to action this week in Tennessee, and if there was ever a place where they could be the stars of the show, this is it...Chuck Cheeseman is on the entry list and we haven't seen Chuck at a national event in a long while. Did you know that Chuck made 148 appearances in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class in his career which dates back to 1989 and he went to thirteen final rounds? What a return it would be for him if he could make the show in Bristol. Good luck, Chuck.

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