Tue, 13 Jul 2010, 10:16 PM They're Cheering for You, Mark!!

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Niver vs. Rizzoli

There's nothing you can say when you lose someone like Mark Niver. The likable man from Scottsdale lost his life in an accident this past weekend and it's something that will take us all a long time to get over, if indeed we ever do get over it. Mark was one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I'm not just talking about in the sport of drag racing. His smile was contagious and his love for the sport was unmatched. I was there when he won the Division 7 race in Tucson back in 2003. I remember asking him if he knew when his last win was. He thought for a moment, smiled and said, "Well I don't remember the year but it was at Orange County." We both laughed and then shared a moment in the winner's circle. I was there when he won his first national event after years of trying. It was at Topeka in 2008 and it came against Chris Demke, the man he would have faced in the final at Seattle. And I was there right after he beat Kyle Rizzoli in the second round this past weekend. Mark and Kyle's dad, Jim, have been good friends for a long time, and that made beating Kyle bittersweet for Mark. When he was being interviewed for the ESPN show after the run he was asked about beating the son of his good friend. In typical Mark fashion he flashed a big smile and said, "It's tough because I love the kid." Then he paused for a moment before adding, "I hate the car but love the kid." After that he laughed

Niver vs. Demke in '08 Topeka final.

out loud and walked back to congratulate Kyle on a good run before re-joining his team. After that run I was riding up the return road on my scooter and I caught up with Mark and his team as they were towing back to the pits. As I pulled along side of him I told him how neat that interview was at the end of the track. Mark was sitting on the tailgate of the truck waving to the crowd who was already cheering for him. It made me smile to see him get the cheers that he so richly deserved. As we continued up the return road I said to him, "Listen to that, they're cheering for you, Mark." Without missing a beat, and as he continued to wave to the fans, he smiled back at me and said, "I think they're cheering for you, Bob." We both knew better, and I just looked back at him and said, "No, they're cheering for you, Mark." For years we have cheered for Mark Niver, and all you had to do was spend some time with him to know how genuine he was and how much he enjoyed being a part, a big part of this sport. On Saturday we saw an example of the kind of man he was. Courtney Force made a run in her dragster, and at the end of that run a rear tire was cut down and Courtney had her hands full just bringing her car to a safe stop. She did a wonderful job, and except for some minor damage to the car, was perfectly ok. At the end of the day I visited Mark's pit and he told me that he had to show me something. He proceeded to point to a part on

Mark and Tanis Niver celebrate '08 Seattle win.

his car that he thinks came off the car during his run on Saturday, a run that occurred right before Courtney made her pass in the same lane. "I am so worried that we may have put something on the track that put her in danger," he said, obviously very concerned." And rather than brush it under the carpet, Mark went to Jerry Darien, who tunes Courtney's car, and to NHRA and told them about it. Now we don't know if his part had anything at all to do with her tire, but Mark was so worried that something he did might have caused the problem that he had to speak up. For the past twenty years I have had the pleasure of seeing him race, and that 2008 win in Topeka had to be one of the most popular that I have ever seen. Everyone loved Mark. Everyone wanted to see him win, and everyone he touched was better for it. Our sport will never be the same without him, but at least I'm glad that I can say I was there when they were cheering for Mark one last time.

McClenathan vs. Brown

As always happens after an incident like this, the racing did continue and we crowned three champions, Cory McClenathan, Tim Wilkerson and Greg Anderson. Cory beat his Team Schumacher teammate, Antron Brown, in the final round, and in the process won for the third time this year and moved back into second place in the points. Cory's final round appearance was his fifth of the year and sixty-second of his career. Did you know that Cory is now tied with Doug Kalitta for fifth place on the all-time Top Fuel list for the most final rounds? Cory, still just one of three drivers to win in Top Fuel this year, won after qualifying third in the field. Did you know that this was only the third time that the Top Fuel winner has come from the number three spot in Seattle and it's the first time since Joe Amato did it in 1994? Cory now goes to his sponsor's race, the FRAM/Autolite Nationals in Sonoma in an effort to keep his hopes alive, hopes for another sweep of the "Western Swing." I have said it all year and I'll say it again, the FRAM Top Fuel car is very good this year and they should be a factor, a real factor once the "Countdown" begins.....Doug Kalitta was looking good in Seattle,

Brown vs. Kalitta

good that is until he lost to Antron Brown in the semi-finals. Doug qualified number one and that was the 29^th top spot of his career and that moved him past Kenny Bernstein and into seventh place on that particular Top Fuel list. I couldn't have been the only one who was shocked to discover that Doug's last number one spot was back at that historic race in 2006, the last race of the year in Pomona. You remember that race, don't you, the one where Tony Schumacher took the title from Doug on the last run of the year?... Doug was sailing right along on Sunday and he made it to the semis before losing on a slight holeshot to Antron. Since there were only fifteen dragsters in Seattle Doug earned the bye run in the first round. Did you know that in his entire career, a career that spans 291 races, this was the first time that Doug ever had a bye run? Amazing, isn't it? Also amazing is the fact that he lost on a holeshot, because that just doesn't happen very often to Doug. Did you know for his entire career, a career that spans 641 rounds, Doug has only lost twelve times on holeshots? And do you know when his last holeshot loss was? Would you believe that it also came at the final race in 2006? What are the odds? Doug will now try to win his first race of the year in Sonoma, a track where he has already won five times. Did you know that Doug has more wins in Sonoma than he has at any other track, and he has more wins in Sonoma that any other Top Fuel driver? Maybe he can become the fourth driver to win in Top Fuel this year. Maybe!!

Wilkerson vs. Capps

Tim Wilkerson won the Funny Car race in Seattle when he beat Ron Capps in the final round. This was Tim's second consecutive win and that's the third time in his career that he has done that and Seattle has been part of two of those streaks. Did you know that Tim won here last year and then won in Sonoma? He also posted back-to-back wins in Memphis and Dallas in 2008, but this was the first time in his career that he has been to three consecutive final rounds. Tim won the race from the eleventh spot and that's only the second time in twenty-three years that a Funny Car driver won at Pacific Raceways from the bottom half of the field. Did you know that seven of Tim's sixteen wins have come after he qualified in the bottom half of the field? And speaking of sixteen wins, that moves him up to twelfth on the Funny Car list and gives him one more win than Al Hofmann. Tim's good weekend also moved him up a couple of spots in the standings and he is now in fifth place....Robert Hight was the top qualifier and I'm starting to believe that really may be a jinx for him. Did you know that this was Robert's thirty-eighth number one spot and he has only cashed in five times? And when you consider that the top Funny Car qualifier in Seattle has only won four times in

Capps vs. Beckman

twenty-three years Robert's chances of winning weren't very good, were they? Robert's thirty-eight top spots moved him into a tie with Kenny Bernstein and Cruz Pedregon for third place on the Funny Car list. Did you know that only Don Prudhomme (50) and John Force (134) qualified number one more times in the history of Funny Cars? The way I look at it second place may be in the future for Robert, but first place looks like it's a little out of reach...The Team Schumacher cars flexed their muscles in the Funny Car class, with Ron, Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan all making it to the semi-finals, and to make it even sweeter for the "Don," his cars eliminated all three of the Team Force cars on Sunday. Jack took care of two of them when he beat John in round one (when John crossed the center line) and Robert in round two, while Ron dispatched Ashley in their second round match. With three cars in the semis it looked like Don may have two winners in Seattle, but Tim took care of that by beating both Matt and Ron....Tim goes into Sonoma as the defending champ, but I'm sot sure that's a good thing. Did you know that Tim has never gone into a race as the defending champion and won the race? Maybe he'll end that trend this weekend. Maybe!!

Anderson vs. Gray

Greg Anderson looks like the Greg Anderson of old doesn't he? Following his big weekend in Norwalk Greg came west and promptly won the Northwest Nationals. Did you know that this is the first time that he has had back-to-back wins since he won three in a row in Englishtown, Norwalk and Denver back in 2008? Greg not only won the race but he beat Mike Edwards along the way and that's always special for a Pro Stock driver. Did you know that Greg now owns a 32-13 edge in head-to-head races with Mike? Those thirty-two losses are, by far, the most for Mike against any opponent in his career. As lopsided as that number appears, did you know that the win by Greg was his first in six chances this year against Mike, not counting the one he earned in the K&N Horsepower Challenge in Norwalk two weeks ago?...I began the week in Seattle by hosting the press conference at the Space Needle on Thursday and Johnny and Shane Gray were part of that. Now that I think about it, so were Cory and Antron. Hey, maybe the teams should spend less time testing and more time at the press conferences if they want to do well on Sunday. Then again...Anyway, Johnny said at that press conference that, "We're going to be quick this weekend," and he was right. Johnny made it to his third Pro Stock final round, and with Rickie Jones not in attendance, Johnny moved into the top ten on Sunday and he did it all after starting from the number two qualifying position. Did you know that the second spot equaled Johnny's best start in a pro class? He was number two in Funny Car at the Topeka race in 2002 while his previous best in Pro Stock was when he started third at Atlanta this year. Johnny

Jim Cunningham

lost to John Force in Topeka that year (in the second round) and that makes him the only guy who can say that they have raced both John Force and Greg Anderson. If he stays on track Johnny could become the first guy in NHRA history to finish in the top ten in Funny Car and Pro Stock in their career. He has also been in the top ten in both alcohol classes. Not bad, huh?...There were four fouls in the first round of Pro Stock and that's a bunch. Jason Line, Jeg Coughlin, Jim Cunningham and Greg Stanfield all fouled out in a wacky round one. Jim Cunningham gets special mention because it was the first time that he ever qualified for a Pro Stock show. At seventy-something years old, Jim has the enthusiasm of a young kid and he sure enjoyed his weekend in Seattle....For Jeg, who fouled out against Rodger Brodgon and the "Pistonator," this was his second red-light of the year, and for him that's very unusual. Did you know that the last time Jeg had two fouls in the same season was in 2007? It was also just the eleventh red-light of his career and that covers 274 races and 667 rounds....Mike Edwards will look to get back on his winning ways this week but it won't be at one of his favorite tracks. Did you know that Mike went to the final round in Sonoma in his first appearance in 1996, but over the past six years he hasn't been past the second round there and that includes a DNQ in 2002? Anyone want to bet that he won't be the number one guy after qualifying is over this week?

Christopher MacLaurin Photo by Bob Johnson Photography

The bikes return to action this week and there are several riders on the entry list who have never been to an NHRA national event before, at least not as competitors. Scott Pollacheck and Christopher MacLaurin, both under the So-Cal Racing/Law Tigers banner, will make their Pro Stock Motorcycle debut this week, or at least they plan to. Both riders are out of the same stable that gave us Dawn Baugues last year and both plan to make a couple of the NHRA races this year. Scott has raced at a lot of the Division 6 & 7 events over the past few years and Christopher was part of the Division 7 Race of Champions event back in 2007. Both are accomplished riders but we all know how tough it is to make the transition from the sportsman ranks to Pro Stock Motorcycle. Good luck to them and welcome to the club.

NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]

Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Top Alcohol Funny Car Final, Round 4 Eliminations
Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Competition Eliminator Final, Round 5 Eliminations
Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Top Dragster Final, Round 5 Eliminations
Nov 05- POMONA 2 - Event Preview
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Top Alcohol Funny Car
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Competition Eliminator
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Super Stock
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Stock Eliminator
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Super Gas