Mike Neff and the Ford Drive One team were on the cusp of winning their first race for the fifth time when he pulled his Mustang up to the starting line versus Bob Tasca III at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals in Reading. An errant drop of sweat to the eye erased a complete day of racing success as Neff was blinded for a split second and was completely thrown off versus Tasca.

Add that incident up to a growing list of bizarre events that have kept the 2008 Rookie of the Year from picking up his first Wally as a driver. Last year in his second final at Bristol where he was number one qualifier and blew through the field on Sunday, in the final round the body of his then Old Spice sponsored Mustang hung up on the chassis and his motor grenaded at half track as he was pulling away from Melanie Troxel.

In Phoenix earlier this year Neff again had the best car on the property but a broken throttle linkage ended his day after his final round burn-out versus Ron Capps. Neff idled down the track in disgust.

While the Reading loss want not as spectacular as Bristol it was equally as frustrating as Phoenix for the man who tuned Gary Scelzi to the 2005 Funny Car World Championship.

"John Medlen and this Ford Drive One team game me a great race car and I feel like I blew it. No excuses. You have to fight through things like sweat and distractions on the starting line. I just feel terrible. I don't want to take anything away from Bob Tasca III but I wish I could have given him more of a race especially for all the fans that waited out the weather and the track issues," said a disappointed Neff after the Reading race.

Heading into the 55th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Neff is fired up and ready to attack the track with his Ford Drive One Mustang. The team testing at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis last week and they feel they are stocked up and ready for action.

"We feel pretty good going into Indy. We have a car that's running really strong, for testing here we really didn't change anything, we just tried a few different things to work on our depth, like spare blowers and stuff like that. We made a good run in the good conditions and made some good runs when it was hot here today. Ultimately we felt that we learned what we needed to and feel that we have a great shot going into the Indy weekend," said Neff.

"Track conditions were good when the track stayed cool, and got a bit tricky when it was hot. I think it will be better during the race when NHRA gets here and does their work on the track. Depending on the weather, the racetrack is in pretty good condition, so we should have a good and quick race weekend," concluded Neff.

Neff just needs to qualify to lock up a spot in the Countdown to 1. For the second year in a row Neff will be in position to become just the second racer to win pro championships as both crew chief and driver. The only person to have accomplished that feat is Dick LaHaie, who won a Top Fuel title as a driver in 1987 and as crew chief to Scott Kalitta in 1994 and 1995.

Did you know.
- When Neff does capture his first win for John Force Racing he will become the seventh different drivers to have won Funny Car races on the NHRA tour - John Force, Tony Pedregon, Gary Densham, Robert Hight, Ashley Force Hood and the late Eric Medlen.

- A strong 2008 rookie season for Neff allowed him to continue another John Force Racing tradition becoming the third John Force Racing, Inc., driver in four years to win the Auto Club's Road to the Future Award as the NHRA Rookie of the Year following Robert Hight (2005) and Ashley Force (2007).

- Neff and his three teammates (John Force, Ashley Force Hood and Robert Hight) will be cruising to Cabo San Lucas for New Year's Eve as part of the John Force Racing Fan Cruise III sponsored by AAA. Fans can get more information by calling 1-888-874-7222.

Get team info here: http://www.johnforceracing.com

Follow John Force Racing at http://www.twitter.com/jfr_racing

The Driver
Mike Neff, 42, driver of the Ford Drive One Mustang, is entering his second season with high expectations. He is currently in 9th place Full Throttle point standings. This season he has reached two finals (Phoenix and Reading) and was No. 1 qualifier in Norwalk, Ohio and Brainerd, Minn. In his rookie year he reached three finals, was No. 1 qualifier twice and qualified for the Countdown to 1 championship race. Neff took over the driving duties for the late Eric Medlen, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a testing accident in March of 2007.

Courtesy of Elon Werner