Thu, 03 Nov 2011, 18:50 PM Jim Luikens' Reporter's Notebook

By Jim Luikens Photo copyright 2011 David Allio

LAS VEGAS -- Notes from Jim Luikens' Reporter's Notebook at the 2011 Big O Tires Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

I've been to all 11 of the fall NHRA National Events that have been contested at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. To my eye, there has never been a bigger crowd than the one that enjoyed the race this year. As anyone who has been to the track knows there is a dedicated, two-lane exit from Interstate 15 that feeds directly into the track. Driving out to track on Sunday morning I encountered a traffic back up that extended at least a half-mile up onto I-15. This followed two days of jam packed grand stands for qualifying. On Sunday the crowd was at least four deep at the fences in addition to every seat in the grand stands being occupied on both sides of the track. The weather was ideal, if a little warm, all three days which made for great racing in all categories.

The straight liners here joined other forms of motorsports this month in recognizing Breast Cancer. For starters, the track had repainted the area surrounding the starting line in bright pink and both of the Al-Anabi Top Fuelers sported pink end plates on their front and rear wings. The top prize however, has to go to the Terry McMillen Amalie Top Fuel Team who not only painted (or wrapped) their Top Fueler in a bright pink coat but sported pink uniforms as well. The uniforms, by the way, are being auctioned off on eBay to raise funds in the fight against the silent killer.

This is a race that has always featured a number of foreign-born competitors. In fact, a couple years ago four drivers, or a whopping 25% of the Top Fuel field, were foreign born. This year only two "foreigners," Thomas Natass from Drobak, Norway and Ike Maier from Tottenham, Ontario, attempted to qualify for this year's T/F field. Thomas' best elapsed time of 3.918-seconds left him 19th on the final T/F qualifying sheet while Ike Maier's 7.292-second run found him 26th in the field of 27 and well out of the starting line-up.

Over in Fuel Funny Car, Todd Lesenko from St. Albert, Alberta and Peter Russo from Australia held the foreign-born flag high. Todd, by far, had the better weekend of the two, qualifying for his second consecutive NHRA F/C field while Russo was relegated to the 21st on the final F/C qualifying list with a best of run of 7.025-seconds. Chuck Worsham is providing guidance for the Lesenko team and has done an impressive job so far. No foreign-born competitors attempted to make the Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle fields.

Two surprise non-qualifiers at the last NHRA event in Phoenix were professional drivers Ron Capps and Spencer Massey. Ironically, both of them redeemed themselves here by qualifying and then marching through their respective fields all the way to the final round. Ron claimed his first event title in quite some time as the F/C winner, while Spencer Massey was the T/F runner-up when his 3.834-second run was just an eyelash behind Del Worsham's winning 3.823-second run.

Jason Line won his second Pro Stock championship.

Jason Line claimed his third NHRA World Championship here this weekend. Jason, who has been a powerhouse in the NHRA Countdown this year, went to eight finals this year and won six of them. Jason, whose last title was five years ago, was eliminated in the semi-final round of P/S with a red light. Despite his early departure he had earned enough points during the countdown to lock up the P/S title with one more race to go. Incidentally, this is the sixth WC title for team owner Ken Black. Ken, who has been recovering from health challenges recently, was at the track to enjoy the coronation.

Pro Stock driver Vincent Nobile and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana III have been locked in an intense battle for this year's AAA Road to the Future award since mid-season. Each driver has taken turns being the favorite for what is, essentially, drag racing's Rookie of the Year award. At this event Hector qualified first and went to the quarterfinals while Vincent qualified 11th and was eliminated in the first round by Larry Morgan. The neck and neck battle for the title now moves on to the final race of the year at Pomona, California.

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Joe Desantis and Fuel Funny Car driver Johnny Gray provided the heart-stopping moments for this year's event. Joe was ejected off his Suzuki GSXR when he hit a bump in the track near the finish line while leaning the bike over to stay in his lane. Despite departing the bike at 180 MPH, and tumbling down the track for quite a distance, Joe walked away with only a broken little finger and was back at the track on Sunday as a spectator. In the final round of F/C qualifying Johnny's Dodge Charger body was launched high in the air near the finish line but an earlier 4.118-second run was enough to keep him in the field at 10th. Johnny's crew worked most of the night to prepare his mount for race day and Johnny rewarded them by driving it all the way to the final round.

Leah Pruett

The Get Screened America Pro Mods wrapped up their season here. Leah Pruett won the event and Khalid Balooshi won the season title. Pro Mod supporter In-N-Out Burgers brought their mobile kitchen to the track on Saturday night and served their famous Double Doubles to the Pro Mod competitors while the series officially wrapped up their season Sunday night with a championship banquet at the Monte Carlo hotel.

John Jacob Hood made his second appearance at an NHRA drag race. John, the new son of Danny Hood and Ashley Force Hood, was also at the race in Phoenix two weeks ago. Ashley was also featured quite prominently in a Public Service Announcement with her dad about safe driving on the street that played several times on the NHRA Mobile screen at the rack.

NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]

Feb 12- 75th Anniversary Celebration Kickoff at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Feb 10- Wally Parks 75th Anniversary Appreciation Fund Part of $27 Million Overall Purse
Feb 08- NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League Releases 2026 Schedule
Feb 07- Huge List of Legends Set to Appear at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Feb 05- NHRA and Legends Global Extend Merchandise Partnership Ahead of 75th Anniversary Season
Feb 04- Doug Foley Announces Addition of Ron Douglas as Consultant to Foley Lewis Racing Top Fuel Team
Feb 04- Tickets Now on Sale for NHRA's Debut at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park and Rockingham Dragway
Feb 04- Reed, Zetterström to Share Driving Duties of Reed Trucking & Excavating Top Fuel Dragster
Jan 29- NHRA to Honor Iconic John Force in 2027 with "50 Years Of Force"
Jan 28- Top Fuel All-Star Callout Returns to Open NHRA's 75th Anniversary Season at Gatornationals