Wed, 7 Jul 2010, 10:20 AM What's So Big About The Swing?

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Safety Safari drying the track.

For years the famous, or infamous, "Western Swing" was talked about as one of the most grueling parts of the drag racing season. It was for racers, teams and fans alike, three weeks of intense racing and travelling. Three weeks that often played a big part in the overall outcome of the season, and three weeks that often made pretenders out of contenders. Three weeks that often separated the teams that could run for the championship and the teams that would run for the championship. It also marked the turning point in the season, the start of the home stretch and the drive for the top spot in the standings. Well, two things have changed recently that have relegated the "swing" to just another three-week stretch of racing. The first is the "Countdown." When NHRA initiated the new playoff format a few years ago it took a little sting out of the "Swing." No longer did you have to win a couple of these races to have a shot at the championship. Now, the key was winning rounds and staying in the top ten in the points so that you would have a chance to run for the championship. And the other thing that affected the "Swing" was the schedule. This year, for example, we had a week off before heading west, but that week off came after four, count 'em, four consecutive weeks of racing. Granted, going from Chicago to Englishtown to Bristol to Norwalk isn't quite as taxing as going from Denver to Seattle to Sonoma, but it was still four straight weeks of racing. Throw in the long days because of rain and the races that ended on Monday and you had a lot of tired racers and workers. So, with all that as a background, maybe the next three weeks won't seem quite as daunting as they did in the past. Maybe.....One more thing before I move on. I wanted to thank all of the Safety Safari members and all those who had to work to dry the tracks, stay late at night, get up early the next morning and then drive to the next race. For them the past four weeks were rugged and they really deserved a week off and I hope they enjoyed it. They work hard and they deserve a little time off.

Terry McMillen

One of the main things that we will watch over these next three races is the battle for the last and final position in the "Countdown." With only four races to go, including the three on the "Swing" and the one in Brainerd, it's time for the teams near the bottom of the list to step up or step out. In Top Fuel it appears that the top nine drivers are secure. Secure, that is, unless they have a complete collapse over the next four races. That leaves the battle for the tenth and final spot as the one to watch over the next four races. Currently Terry McMillen is in tenth with 474 points, but that's only six points ahead of the number eleven driver, David Grubnic. It was announced last week the David will be on tour for the rest of the year so that means that Terry is anything but a lock for that final spot in the "Countdown." Terry has had a couple of good races lately and that has moved him into the top ten. Those races, the ones in Topeka, Chicago and Englishtown, all featured round wins for Terry and that's the difference right now between him and David. Did you know that David's last round win came back in Houston when he beat none other than Terry McMillen? With a good team, a good car and a good crew David needs to start flexing some of those Team Kalitta muscles if he wants to catch Terry in the

Hartman was No.1 qualifier at '96 Seattle race.

standings....For his part, Terry has Richard Hartman as his crew chief, and Richard has done well in the past in Seattle. Now I'm not saying that will mean anything this week, but it can't hurt. Did you know that Richard was the number one qualifier in Seattle in 1996, and that's one of the two times in his career that he was at the top of the pack after qualifying? The other came in Pomona and it also occurred in 1996. At that Seattle race in '96 Richard made it to the semi-finals before losing to Tony Pedregon. Richard, who has been to a couple of final rounds in his career, would love to help Terry make the "Countdown," and some round wins over the next three races could go a long way toward making that happen....If past history is any indication of future performance, and it's usually not, David should have a good weekend, and possibly a good "Swing." Did you know that David has won more rounds in Seattle than he has at any other event on tour? Plus, in 2004, he went to back-to-back final rounds in Seattle and Sonoma so maybe this three week odyssey is just what he needs to get healthy and get in the "Countdown."

Russell vs. Kenny Bernstein in '02 Seattle final.

...Unlike a lot of other tracks on the schedule, qualifying number one in Seattle is a good thing. Did you know that the top qualifier in Top Fuel has gone on to win nine times in the twenty-two year history of this event? By comparison, the number two qualifier has won exactly one time, and that's when the late Darrel Russell did it in 2002....Did you know that Larry Dixon is tied with Gary Scelzi and Joe Amato with three top qualifying spots in Seattle, but only Joe was able to win each and every time he qualified number one? Joe won it in 1989, 1991 and 1999 after leading all qualifiers into Sunday's action. I guess you could say that Joe knows Seattle.

While there have been just three winners in the Top Fuel class this year, the Funny Car class has had six, and that just shows how wide open the class is. And when you consider that Ashley Force, Tony Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon, Ron Capps and Del Worsham are not among those six winners you can see that the Funny Car championship is really up for grabs....I'd say that the top nine drivers in FC are all safe, while the battle for the final spot could really heat up over the next four races. Tony Pedregon currently holds down the tenth spot with 637 points, while Jeff Arend in next with 605 points, and that's not a lot of separation between those two drivers and teams. Tony has been in the top ten all year long and was as high as fifth after the Las Vegas

Tony Pedregon

race, but since then he has only won two rounds and that's why he has dropped in the standings. With Mike Kloeber helping out now Tony may be ready to turn the corner, but he better do it soon or he could find himself out of the "Countdown." The last time that Tony was out of the top ten was at the very beginning of the 2009 season, and that's only because an early loss at Pomona or Phoenix can really affect your standing in the points. Tony has had good success at Pacific Raceways and that includes four final rounds and a win, with the win coming back in 2002. When you include the fact that he hasn't lost in the first round in Seattle since 2004, you could be looking at a "get healthy" weekend for the former champion....Qualifying number one certainly doesn't guarantee success in the Funny Car class in Seattle. Did you know that in the previous twenty-two trips to Seattle the top qualifier in Funny Car has only won the race four times? Tony was one of those guys to do it back in 2002, and with the "little points" that go with each round of qualifying these days, I'm sure Tony wouldn't mind starting from the top spot again this year....While being number one might not be important, qualifying in the top half of the field is, and that's because only once did a Funny Car driver from the bottom half of the field

Bazemore vs. Ron Capps in '06 Seattle final.

win the Seattle race. Did you know that when Whit Bazemore won after qualifying twelfth in the field in 2006 he became the first and only Funny Car driver to win from any starting spot lower than eighth in Seattle?...One thing that Jeff Arend needs to do if he wants to catch Tony is stay away from Matt Hagan. Did you know that those two drivers have met six times this year and Matt has won five of those races? In fact, before he beat him in the first round in Norwalk, Jeff had dropped five races in a row to Matt this year and seven in a row over two years. Did you know that, besides Matt, the only driver with a better winning percentage against Jeff is Robert Hight? Jeff is 1-7 against Matt and 1-9 against Robert. Jeff has been in two final rounds this year and can you guess who he lost to in those finals? How about Matt and Robert?...Ron Capps, one of the many FC drivers looking for their first win of the season, is coming to one of his favorite tracks. Did you know that Ron won his first race here in 1995 and that he won it in

Capps at '95 Seattle race.

Top Fuel? He also won in Funny Car in 1998, and in both of those races he qualified number seven. Did you know that Ron is the only guy to win in Seattle in both Top Fuel and Funny Car? Other drivers have had their chances to do that, especially when you consider that, in addition to Ron, Del Worsham, Tony and Cruz Pedregon and Jack Beckman have all qualified in both fuel classes in Seattle. There have been others, too, like Gary Scelzi and Kenny Bernstein, but only Ron was able to win in both classes. Did you know that Ron has been to the final round five times in Seattle and that's tied with Phoenix for the most finals for him at any event on the tour? Maybe a trip to Seattle is exactly what Ron needs to get a win and move up in the standings.

Pro Stock has more drivers in contention than any of the other pro classes and that means that the "Western Swing" is going to be huge for all of them. Heading into Seattle Shane Gray is in ninth place with 561 points (just two points behind Rodger Brogdon) while Rickie Jones is in tenth with 509 points. Just outside the top ten are Johnny Gray (503) and Bob Yonke (498), and both of them are capable of moving up, while Warren Johnson and V. Gaines can't be counted out either. That is, they can't be counted out if they win some rounds and gain some ground this weekend...Since I mentioned qualifying in the other pro classes I think I should do it for Pro Stock, too. In the history of this event, did you know that the top two qualifiers have won the race fifty percent of the time? The number one qualifier has won six times and the second qualifier has won five times while the drivers in the second half of the field have only won twice. One of those to win from the bottom half of the field was Mike Edwards who qualified twelfth in 1997 and went on to win the race. Did you know that when Mike won it in 1997 that gave him back-to-back wins in Seattle and he is one of only two Pro Stock drivers to do that at

Allen Johnson

Pacific Raceways? Greg Anderson also won in consecutive years in 2003 and 2004, but other than those two, no other Pro Stock driver has won in consecutive years. Actually I guess I should amend that by saying that I am referring to the current national event in Seattle. That's because there was a race at the Seattle track in 1975 through 1980, but all of the stats I refer to did happen at the current national event at Pacific Raceways. That early event featured wins by some of the greats in the sport like Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Gary Beck and it featured four wins by Bob Glidden....Mike Edwards comes into the race after a round one loss in Norwalk, Ohio. Mike was beaten by Jason Line and it was his second opening round loss of the year. Did you know that Allen Johnson is the only Pro Stock driver to not lose in the first round all year? If history repeats itself you can look for Mike to rebound this week. Did you know that after two of his last three opening round losses Mike has come back to win the next race? And with three wins in Seattle he could be looking for another strong showing and that's bad news for the rest of the Pro Stock drivers....Greg Anderson is coming off his great weekend in Ohio, the weekend where he won the K&N Horsepower Challenge and then he won the race itself. Even though he has won twice in Seattle he hasn't had a lot of luck there for the past five years. Did you know that since his last win in Seattle in 2004 Greg has won exactly one round there? One!! That 2004 win was part of Greg's sweep of the "Western Swing" and it was just a small part of his very good season. The question now is, how will Greg perform after his stellar weekend in Ohio?



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