Tue, 3 Aug 2010, 07:08 PM Wow, A Week Off

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

For the first time in a long while the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series has two weeks off. There wasn't a race this past weekend and there isn't one coming up this week either. Then we will go to Brainerd before having two more weeks off before Indy. What a schedule. I know that I enjoy the racing but I also enjoy the time off. Actually, for me, it's not as much time off as it is a change of venue. This past weekend I went to Cedar Falls Raceway in Iowa for the Division 5 National Open there, and I have to admit that I had a great time. The people treated me well, I saw some great racing and got to go to another track that I have never been to before. Tomorrow (August 4) I will be at Atco Dragway, the track where it all started for me, to celebrate their 50^th anniversary. And while everyone is preparing for Indy in a couple of weeks I'll be off to spend a weekend in Portland, Oregon. This coming weekend I will actually be not working, totally off, and I'm planning on spending some time with my grandchildren. One day we're going to the zoo with Will, my youngest grandson, and the next day I'm going to a Phillies' game with Stevie, my oldest. As much as I love going to the races, whether it's Indy, Atco or Cedar Falls, there's nothing I enjoy more than spending time with my children and grandchildren, so you can imagine how much I am looking forward to my week off. For those of you who are on tour and go to all the national events, I hope you enjoy some "down time" as well. Did you know that as busy as the schedule has been recently (four races in a row followed by a week off and then the Western Swing), we once had six races in six weeks? Back in 2007, because of some problems at the Bristol track, that race was postponed and re-scheduled, and when it was put back on

Mark and Tanis Niver

the calendar it meant that we raced for six consecutive weeks. I get tired just thinking about that.....As much as I love my job and everything about it, I do wish I had time last week to attend the memorial service for Mark Niver. That tribute, which was held on Friday of last week while I was in Iowa, was a fitting way for the drag racing community to say farewell to Mark, one of the most beloved racers that I can think of. Everyone who spoke about him, both publicly at the service and privately since his accident, had nothing but nice things to say about him. Since I wasn't able to attend the service I am glad that I was able to spend some time with Mark at Seattle. We talked and we joked and I realized how special he was. If you don't subscribe to NATIONAL Dragster do yourself a favor and get a copy of the issue that is dated July 30th. Brad Littlefield, who always does a great job, has a column on the back page, a column that talks about Mark. Even if you didn't know Mark well you need to read this column. It is so well written and captures the true essence of the man. Thanks, Brad, I couldn't have said it better myself.....To Mark's wife, Tanis, and the rest of his family, please know that he will be greatly missed and you will all be in our thoughts and prayers.

Antron Brown

With this little pause in the racing season it gives us time to look back at the first sixteen races of the year and reflect on what we have seen. There have been so many great moments and some wild action, but the question is, have there been any real surprises? Maybe the fact that we have only had four winners in Top Fuel is a surprise, especially when you consider the fact that we didn't get winner number four until Doug Kalitta won in Denver. I asked in my column last week, who will be the next dragster driver to post a win? Antron Brown would be the most likely candidate since he has been to five final rounds already this year. Plus, the Matco Tools car has been running well and has posted five number one qualifying spots already in 2010. Speaking of which, am I the only one who was surprised that Antron's 3.961, a run that he made early in the second session in Denver, stood up as the best time in qualifying? After I boldly announced that his run had "absolutely no chance" of

Brandon Bernstein

staying number one, car after car, team after team gave it their best shot, but when all was said and done on Friday, there was "AB" still at the top of the pack. And after two more rounds of qualifying on Saturday, under what seemed like very good conditions, nobody was able to take that spot away from him. Being the brave soul that I am I went to his pit area and apologized to Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, Antron's co-crew chiefs, for making such a bold and obviously wrong, prediction. Thankfully they laughed about it, and when I asked them if they thought that would stay number one, Brian and Mark said, almost simultaneously, "No." Having said all of that, Anton would have to be at the top of any list of drivers who should and could break into the win column at any time....Brandon Bernstein would have to get consideration, too, since the Copart/Lucas Oil car has vastly improved over the past few races. Brandon is in fifth place, has locked down a spot in the "Countdown" and appears to be in a nice comfort zone as a driver. Did you know that Brandon was first off the line against all four drivers he faced in Denver? When you consider the fact that those races were against Cory McClenathan, Antron Brown, Larry Dixon and Doug Kalitta, the fact that he left first four times is very impressive. Brandon has been first off the line 60% of the time this year and that's the second

Steve Torrence

best mark that he has had in his career. He was slightly better last year, and with all the things that can take place on the starting line when staging a Top Fuel car, I think that's very good for Brandon....With only one race remaining before we make the cut to the top ten drivers, eight TF drivers have already secured their place in the "Countdown." Steve Torrence is currently in ninth place and David Grubnic is in tenth. Before I go on I should say that I read the article in National DRAGSTER (July 16^th) about drivers and their names. In it, the author, Juan Torres, said that he calls Mr. Grubnic, "Dave," after all, he is often referred to as "Aussie Dave" and not David. Nonetheless, I have always called him David and that's what he'll get in my column. By the way, in Juan's column he also noted, and I read recently in another automotive publication, that General Motors wants to refer to their brand as "Chevrolet" and not Chevy. Good luck with that. Besides, if you look at the latest ads for that particular brand, they list their web site as www.chevy.com. Go figure....Anyway, Steve is a virtual lock for the ninth spot but David will have to go further in eliminations next week than Terry McMillen does. While it will be very tense for the drivers it will be fun to watch for the fans. Good luck to both of them.

Tony Pedregon

While the dragsters are looking at having their lowest number of drivers win a race since 1978, the Funny Cars could set a record for the most different winners in a single season. Currently there have been seven drivers who have won at least one race and the record for the most winners in a year is eleven and that was set in 2006. True, with only seven races remaining you would have to have a lot of drivers step up and win, but a quick look at the season will show that there really isn't one dominant driver in the class this year. That fact alone should make the "Countdown" very exciting for the fans.....Among those who are winless this year are Ashley Force, Del Worsham, both Tony and Cruz Pedregon and Jeff Arend. And while all five of them may not win this year (although they all could), you certainly expect at least two of them to post wins, don't you?...Nine drivers have already locked up spots in the "Countdown" in the Funny Car class, and it appears that either Tony Pedregon or Jeff Arend will make the final cut, but not both of them. Tony is used to the playoff pressure, but it may be new for Jeff. I have always thought that it would be great if they could settle that last spot in a head-to-head race. If that happens at Brainerd it would be the first time this year that those two have met on race day. Overall, they have raced eleven times

Jeff Arend

and Tony has won seven of those races, but that won't mean anything if he can't go further than Jeff next week. Of course the advantage goes to Tony since he is in tenth and Jeff has to pass him. For the record, Jeff is thirty-three points, or two rounds, behind Tony at this time.Other than members of Team Force or Team Schumacher, Tim Wilkerson is the highest ranked driver right now in the standings. With his three wins and four finals this year, Tim appears to be in good shape heading into the "Countdown." Did you know that, of the five drivers ahead of him in the points right now, the only one Tim hasn't beaten this year is Robert Hight?....Matt Hagan, who looks like he will make a serious run at the championship this year, checked something off of his "to do" list in Sonoma when he beat John Force for the first time. The next thing he will try to do is beat Tim. Ok, so they have only met twice this year, but Tim has won both of them, and if you want to win the championship you're going to have to beat all the good cars sooner or later. Or at least I think you will..If I had to pick a favorite going into the "Countdown" in the Funny Car class I'm not sure that I could. The class is evenly matched, there are a lot of really good cars, and like I said, nobody seems ready to put a string of wins together like Robert Hight did last year once he made the "Countdown." Should be fun....

Shane Gray

A few races ago, after he clinched his spot in the "Countdown," I was joking with Mike Edwards and I said that he could take off until Indy because he had such a huge lead. Needless to say he didn't do that, but the last few races haven't been the best for the champ. It's been four races since Mike went to a final round, and for him, that's a big drought. Maybe he and his team are in the "test" mode for the past few races, but after qualifying at or near the top for most of the year, Mike was twelfth at Norwalk and fourth at Denver. For the record, he was first and second in Seattle and Sonoma but he didn't win those races. Having said all that, I don't think there are many people who would pick against Mike once we get to Indy.A look at the other drivers in the top ten and you wonder who can mount a real challenge against Mike once we get to Indy? Did you know that not one of the

Johnny Gray

other drivers in the top ten has a winning record against Mike this year? Only Jason Line, who is 2-2 against him, doesn't have a losing record in 2010 against the reigning Full Throttle champion. Did you know that Mike is 24 - 6 against the other drivers in the top ten this year? Now that's a dominating record against the best cars in the class, isn't it?....The addition of Johnny and Shane Gray in the top ten this year means that Kurt Johnson will, most likely, not be in that select group at the end of the season. Kurt has finished in the top ten every year of his career dating back to 1993 and that's seventeen consecutive years, in case you're counting. John Force has been in the top ten for twenty-five straight years and Warren Johnson made the list in twenty-two consecutive seasons. In the overall realm of professional racing, to be a top ten driver for seventeen straight years is very impressive, but like all good things, it has to come to an end sooner or later.

Craig Treble

With only five riders already in the playoffs, the Pro Stock Motorcycle class would appear to be wide open, but a quick look at the points will show that just about everyone who is in the top ten right now will stay there. Craig Treble is in tenth place with his 475 points and Shawn Gann is next with 418. While that is a deficit of 57 points, and it isn't out of the question that Shawn could make that up, realistically it's a bunch. It's three rounds and that means Craig would have to go out early and Shawn would have to stay around late in Brainerd. Hey, anything can happen, especially in the bike class, so let's not give anyone anything they haven't earned yet.So who is the favorite? Hector Arana is still number one and has been for most of the year (except for after Gainesville) and he has a strong bike. The Harley-Davidsons of Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec have to be included in any discussion about a championship and so does Matt Smith....The

Shawn Gann

two sleepers in the field may be Michael Phillips and Steve Johnson, both of whom have the best bikes they have ever had and that's saying a lot for two of the real veterans in the class. Did you know that Steve is closing in on 300 races while Michael has been at 163 national events? That's more than almost everyone in the class, everyone except racers like Steve, Craig Treble (189), Hector (186) and Angelle Sampey (183). In all of those years and through all of those races Michael has never had a bike like the one he has now, and who ever wins the championship will have to beat him sooner or later..With two wins and a very good bike Matt Smith may be in position to regain the championship. The Al-Anabi bike has run well this year and would have to be given as good a shot at winning as anyone else..While I certainly have no idea how this will turn out I have to say that, from a competitive point of view, 2010 has been as good a year as we have seen in a long while in the bike class. Plus, for the first time in a long while, they have a legitimate candidate for Rookie of the Year in LE Tonglet. Did you know that Matt Hines tied for Rookie of the Year honors in 1996? He finished tied in the voting with some guy by the name of Mike Edwards. And GT Tonglet, LE's brother, won the "Road to the Future" award in 2001, so the motorcycle riders haven't been shut out completely in the post-season honors.

That's it for now, I think I'll go back to relaxing and get ready for the zoo on Friday. See you in Brainerd!!

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