Tue, 01 Nov 2011, 23:10 PM Just What The Doctor Ordered

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2011 Auto Imagery, Inc.

A great crowd enjoyed great racing. Photo copyright 2011 David Allio

The Big O Tires NHRA Nationals was a huge success in every sense of the word. At least it was a success for those who were there, which would not include me. Seems I got a "bug" or something before the weekend and when I arrived in Las Vegas I went straight to the emergency room where I couldn't even tell them what was wrong with me. Or I could but in a very tiny little raspy voice. It seems that I lost my voice somewhere between Waterford, New Jersey and Vegas, and in my line of work that's not a good thing. So, for the first time in my announcing career, which spans forty-five years, I missed an event because I couldn't talk. Before you say anything, yes, some people probably did think that was a plus, but most, from what I could tell, actually missed me at the race. It was so frustrating to spend three days in your hotel room in Las Vegas and to miss all of the action at the track. I even missed the big Fan Fest on Thursday, the charity poker game (which I just knew I would win this year) and the big get together at New York, New York for Team Schumacher. But most of all I missed the first couple days of racing although I did sneak in to watch Sunday's eliminations which were great. I did want to thank Alan Reinhart for doing a great job (I knew that he would) and the Strip's Nathan Hirschi for filling in. Nathan was wonderful and handled the end of the track interviews like a seasoned veteran. Alan, well, he did everything I knew he would and he is the ultimate pro. I like to think that I was missed but with those two handling the chores the show went on and never missed a beat. Thanks to everyone who checked in via phone, e-mail, text, Twitter and Facebook for their thoughts. Wait, I don't do Twitter or Facebook, do I? Oh well, thanks anyway.

Del Worsham won his seventh event this season.

The racing on the track was superb and it unfolded in front of one of the best crowds ever at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In the end it was Del Worsham taking the Top Fuel win over Spencer Massey and that moved Del to within two points of the lead. Did you know that this was the fourth final round meeting between the two this year and that each driver has won twice? They have also met at half of the races so far this year with Del holding a 7-4 edge in their head-to-head meetings. That's a lot of races between two drivers in one year, isn't it?...Del won from the number one spot and so did Ron Capps in Funny Car and Mike Edwards in Pro Stock and that doesn't happen very often. Did you know that in the last 199 races the top qualifiers have won in all three pro classes at the same race exactly three times? It happened in Topeka in 2003 and Houston in 2005 and not again until this week. You would think that it happens more often, but it doesn't....I have been there for all of Del's thirty-two wins and I don't think I have ever seen him as excited or animated as he was in Vegas. "This is what we race for," he said after the race. "To have a chance at winning the championship is what we do and I'm really excited." The Al-Anabi team is solid from top to bottom and I'm sure they wish the Auto Club Finals were starting today instead of next week. Del's win from the top spot was his third of the year, and did you know that he is the only Top Fuel driver to win from the top spot

Spencer Massey regained the point lead.

more than once this year?....Spencer Massey's FRAM team gets a lot of credit for rebounding from that DNQ in Arizona to make it to the final round. They also get credit because they were working under some tough circumstances. Did you know that Tommy Okuhara, the father of Todd and Scott Okuhara, passed away last week? That had to make the race particularly hard on the Okuhara brothers as they prepared the FRAM car for action. But, like the pros they are, they responded by giving Spencer a great car, a car that came within inches of winning the race and a car that leads the points going into Pomona....The FRAM car really represents what I would call a total team effort. By that I mean it's not always the quickest or fastest but it always seems to win rounds. Did you know that of the top four cars Spencer has fewer number one spots (2) than any of the others but he always seems to win rounds? The fact that he has been first off the starting line almost 80% of the time this year is a contributing factor and so is the fact that the car almost always goes down the race track. I say "almost" because even Don Garlits didn't go down the track on every run....With Antron Brown just fourteen points back and Larry Dixon only forty-four points off the lead the final race at Pomona should be very exciting for racers and fans alike.

Ron Capps and crew celebrate win.

Ron Capps did something that not many Funny Car drivers have done in history and that is win the race after failing to qualify at the previous event. In 2007 Ron failed to qualify in Topeka and then made the final round at the next race, and I only mention that because two of the drivers he beat at that next race were Jack Beckman and Cruz Pedregon, two of the same drivers he beat this week in Las Vegas. What are the odds?...The win came for Ron and his NAPA team after they qualified number one. Did you know that this was just the eleventh time in his great career that Ron has been the top qualifier and it was the first time since the Denver race in 2009, a race he also won? With Tim and Kim Richards leading the way the NAPA crew re-grouped after the Phoenix race and certainly looked like they had the best car at the Strip this weekend. In addition to qualifying number one Ron also set low elapsed time and top speed and that gave him a "sweep" for the event. Did you know that this was the first time in his career that Ron swept an event? It was also just the fourth time in his career that he had the fastest car in the class and that's amazing for a guy with a history like Ron has. Did you know that of those four top speeds two of them have come at the same event, the one in Las Vegas?...Like the FRAM car this was a good team effort for Ron. Not only did he have a very good car but he drove well, as he has throughout this career. Ron was first off the line in three of his four rounds on Sunday and that reflects the year he is having. Did you know that he has been first off the mark 72% of the time this year and that's really good?...Ron's eleventh number one

Matt Hagan left Las Vegas with the point lead.

ties him with his pal, Gary Scelzi, for fifteenth place in Funny Car history and his thirty-two Funny Car wins have him solidly in fourth place in the class just three behind his mentor, Don Prudhomme. Ron, like Spencer, may look back on the Phoenix race at the end of the year and think about what may have been....Ron's four round wins gave him an impressive total of 424 for his career. Did you know that is fifteenth best among all professional drivers in history? Among those ahead of him only Kenny Bernstein, Bob Glidden and Joe Amato are not still actively racing....Matt Hagan, who suffered mechanical troubles in his second round loss to Cruz Pedregon, still earned enough points to leave town in first place. Ok, so he is only one point ahead of Jack Beckman but he's still in first place. Cruz is twenty-five points behind Jack and Mike Neff is another eight points back while Robert Hight is seventy-one out of first with Ron another point back. Anyway you look at it there will be a real battle for the championship in Pomona and the real pressure will be on Matt, Jack and Cruz. The next three still have a shot but they will need the drivers in front of them to go out early, and while that certainly can happen it's a long shot that all three of them will lose in the early rounds although, as we all know, strange things can happen and that's what should make Pomona a lot of fun.

Jason Line celebrates his second Championship.

Mike Edwards won the battle but Jason Line won the war. Mike swept to victory in his Penhall Pontiac but it was Jason who donned the champion's jacket at the end of the day. Mike showed that he had a good car right from the start and he never looked back. After qualifying number one for the fifth time this year Mike went on and won from the top spot for the second time this year. Did you know that Mike's other win from the top spot this year came at the Las Vegas race earlier this year? For a guy who doesn't like to gamble Mike sure likes Las Vegas. Like Ron, Mike swept to victory and this was the eighth

Mike Edwards celebrates fourth win of the season

time in his career that he has done that. Did you know that it is the third time in the last four races in Las Vegas that Mike has run the table on the way to the win? Like I said, Mike loves Vegas.....His four round wins on the weekend gave Mike 358 for his career and that's seventh best in the history of the Pro Stock class and his thirty-two wins are the same number in Pro Stock that Ron has in the Funny Car class. Mike also has a pair of wins in the old Modified Eliminator while Ron has one in Top Fuel so we're talking about two very versatile and successful racers in Mike and Ron....For the record did you know that Mike is in the top six in every Pro Stock statistical category? When it comes to great Pro Stock racers Mike has to be in every discussion....Of course with another Full Throttle title Jason Line has to be mentioned with the best in the class, doesn't he? Even though he fouled out and lost in the semi-finals Jason earned enough points to add another Pro Stock title to the one he won in 2006 and the Stock Eliminator crown he won in 1993. The championship is another one for the Ken Black-owned, Summit Racing-sponsored team and that makes them one of the most successful in drag racing history....I'm sure we'll hear more during his acceptance speech in two weeks but Jason did say that this title means a lot to him, maybe more than his first Pro Stock championship. "After a while you realize how hard it is to win a championship," he said after the race. "So this means a great deal to me and my team." Jason is a very nice young man and he's a real credit to his family, his team, his sponsors and the sport. Congratulations Jason....Allen Johnson came close to winning again, but for the second consecutive week he had to settle for the runner-up spot. The Dodge ran well and even though he came up a bit short AJ has to be pleased with the way his team has performed over the past few races. Did you know that Allen has been to the final round eight times over the past two seasons and that's good in anyone's book, at least I think it is....Almost overlooked in all the excitement of the Pro Stock action was the fact that Mark Wolfe made the starting field. Mark, who dabbled it the class a few years ago (one DNQ in 1997 and two in 2002), put his Ford in the field in the number sixteen spot and that had to be a great feeling for him and his team. With Comp Eliminator standout Brian Huhtala serving as crew chief, the team gets a big tip of the cap for making a very tough starting field.

Eddie Krawiec celebrates win.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle battle is almost over. I say "almost" because Eddie Krawiec has a sixty-nine point lead over Hector Arana Jr. and that's a bunch with just four rounds remaining in the season. Eddie used a win, coupled with a second round loss by Jr., to move out to the big lead and virtually assure himself of a second Full Throttle championship. Eddie beat his Harley-Davidson teammate, Andrew Hines, in the final round after beating Hector's father in the semi-finals and that's why he has the title within his grasp. Did you know that when Eddie met Andrew in the final round it was the first time since the Sonoma race in 2009 that we had two Harley's in the final round? That's surprising, or at least it surprised me....Eddie's win was his fourth of the year and that ties him with the reigning champ, LE Tonglet, for the most wins in the class this year.....While Spencer and Ron may look back at Phoenix at the end of the year Hector Jr. may look back at his second round match with Angie Smith as one that may have cost him the championship. Did you know that Hector Jr. had a .117 reaction time in that round and he lost to Angie on a holeshot?...When Hector Jr. did not win it kept us from having a historic moment at the races. Since he was the top qualifier he could have given us a sweep at the top with all four number one qualifiers winning. Did you know that in the history of the sport, and this goes back to 1987 when the bikes became part of the national championship scene, we have never had all four top qualifiers go on to win the race? Never, and I find that simply amazing....Karen Stoffer had a tough weekend, a weekend that saw her fail to make the field at her home track. Did you know that Karen had made the starting field at 118 consecutive races going back to the 2004 season? That's a long time, but as we all know this is a tough sport and a few bad runs can put you on the sideline in a hurry.

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