Twenty-three times a year, Top Fuel and Funny Car tuners go through the same routine while
preparing for an upcoming NHRA Full Throttle Series race. Only once does that deviate, but when it
does, tuning those nitromethane-gulping engines can become a big headache.
That event, the aptly-named the Mopar Mile-High Nationals, unfolds Friday through Sunday at
Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., near Denver. It is the 13th of 18 regular-season races and
another important stop for Clay Millican and the Hope4Sudan/ Motorvation team in their bid to
secure a top 10 finish and qualify for the six-race Countdown to the Championship that begins in
September.
The track sits 5,860 feet in the rare air and, yes, lack of oxygen at that height is what causes
the crew chiefs' anxiety.
During the last four races, Millican has climbed from 11th into 10th place. He now is only 38
points behind ninth-place Doug Kalitta as the 20th NHRA Western Swing - it includes stops at
Seattle (July 19) and Sonoma, Calif. (July 26) - gets underway.
"This is just my second Top Fuel race at Denver," Millican said, "but the last time Lance Larsen,
our crew chief, tuned a dragster there was in 2007 and he was the No. 1 qualifier with driver
Melanie Troxel. We plan to use that (tune-up) information wisely and get solidly qualified, and
then see what we can do to inch closer to Kalitta on Sunday.
"I'm certainly glad I don't tune the cars. I'm glad to leave that to Lance."
Larsen accepts the challenge, but admits it can be gut-wrenching.
"On the first run, when you go up to the starting line at other tracks, you get butterflies in your
stomach because you are so nervous about doing well," Larsen said. "But, when you go to Denver,
the situation is so extreme because of the altitude. It's really nerve-racking. You want to throw
up because it puts so much pressure on you. It does for everybody . . . and you can't wait to get
back down off the hill.
"They have great fans, great track and everything else, but it's just that the conditions throw you
so many curves that it is hard to run good up there.
"It is a mechanical challenge," he added. "Years and years ago when I started doing this, that's
the thing that kept me enthused about it. And as the years have gone by, it does get a little
easier. But the NHRA rules have changed (in recent years) and they lowered the percentage of nitro
we can use, and then they took things away that allowed us to fix it. Denver is the only place in
the world where you can't make power, no matter what."
Millican admits there are definite challenges in the oxygen-deprived air, "but," he says, "with the
track sitting on the mountain, it is such a cool place to race. This track is so unique and the
race setup we use there is so different from anything we use anywhere else."
The good news is all the teams are in the same oxygen-starved atmosphere . . . and they return to
normal sea level conditions next week at Seattle.
