Fri, 7 Jul 2006, 11:23 AM The Sportsman Racers Never Quit

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2006 Auto Imagery, Bob Johnson, Dave DeAngelis, Robert Grice

Even though there is a break in the action on the NHRA POWERade tour, the competition in the sportsman classes is as intense as ever. There are very few weeks during the season when there isn't at least one divisional event going on and this week is no exception. After finishing the Division 4 race in Rusk, Texas last week, and with both Division 1 and D-3 having races, it'll be time for the racers from the great Northwest to go at it this weekend in Woodburn, Oregon. That'll give those men and women a chance to add points to their season total before the national tour visits that part of the country in two weeks for the race in Seattle and, after that, a lot of them will then head down the coast to Sonoma for the national event there. It's funny that we haven't seen a lot of those folks since we left Las Vegas and that seems like a long time ago. Now, with the national races beginning in Denver and then going west, we should see a lot of changes in the points in the sportsman ranks since the west coast teams now get to play catch up with their eastern counterparts. The one thing that you can always count on in the sportsman points is that you never really know who is leading the pack until you get down to the last few races. It's kind of like a staggered start in track and field, until they come around that final turn it really is anybody's race.

Sean O'Bannon

About the only thing that is certain right now is that we won't have a repeat champion in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. Steve Torrence, the defending champ, is out of a ride right now and, now that he has his Top Fuel license, I don't expect to see him in the sportsman ranks again in the near future. Another thing that seems certain, for the first time in a long while we have a supercharged car that could make a serious run for the championship. Sean O'Bannon, with three national event final rounds and two wins to his credit already this year, is right in the thick of things, and with his talent and resources, not to mention Norm Grimes, he should be in the chase for the long haul. Sean has also been to the final round at a couple of divisional events and if he could win one of the two races on the coast he could be the leader in the clubhouse by the time we get to Indy. Spence Massey, who has done a great job with Gene Snow's car this year, also has to be watched and, from what I hear, he'll be at Seattle and Sonoma and that should make things very interesting. There are a host of other teams who will challenge for the championship, among them Aaron Olivarez, Bill Reichert and Ashley Force, and that could make for one of the more competitive seasons we've had in a long time in the dragster class.

Frank Manzo

What can you say about Frank Manzo that hasn't already been said? He went to Lebanon Valley this past weekend and won the race when he beat his arch-rival, Bob Newberry, on a holeshot in the final round. At fifty-four years old (he'll love me for pointing that out) Frank just seems to be getting better and that's almost impossible. Frank, Bob and Cy Chesterman, all current or former world champs, should be battling right to the end this year and they should get some competition from Jay Payne, Jackie Stidham and Bucky Austin among others. Jay runs a lot of races and he'll probably max out before the others, Jackie doesn't run enough races (to get the maximum points or to satisfy me) and Bucky has a big three weeks coming up beginning with the D-6 race this weekend. A good showing over the course of those races could find the "Northwest Hitter" right back near the top of the pack. Bucky, who has an amazing fourteen top ten finishes in his career, has done everything you can in the class except win the Lucas Oil World Championship. Three good weeks from Bucky could go a long way toward changing that. Another driver who has to be watched is Doug Gordon. Along with his dad, Mike, the second-generation racer is solidly placed in the top five right now with plenty of races still to count. Doug has a very good car and he's an excellent driver and that's a tough combination. Of course Doug and Bucky can't both win these next three races so it will be a vital point in the season for them.

Rodger Brogdon

The other sportsman classes really are wide open and the interesting thing about it is it looks like we could have some new champions this year. Of course, as I always point out in mid-season, anything can and usually does happen. By that I mean that someone who is not even on the radar screen right now will probably come up and win at least one of the eliminator championships. Competition Eliminator finds Rodger Brogdon, Michael Johnson, David Rampy and Glen Treadwell at the top of the pack but lurking back there, almost unnoticed, is Jeff Taylor. As we all know, Jeff is the kind of guy who can string together a couple of good races, make that great races, and add a whole bunch of points to his total in a hurry. The sleeper in the field might be Jeff Lane, one of the most versatile and under appreciated racers in the country. Jeff will most likely make all three of the events out west over the next three weeks and he could move right to the top of the pack. Someday, when I have the Bob Frey Race of Champions, we'll find out how really good Jeff Lane is. That race, by the way, will feature eight or sixteen of the toughest sportsman racers in the country in a heads-up match to see who is the best. They'll drive Comp Cars, Super Stocks, Stock and some of the "90" class cars and it should be a lot of fun. OK, so maybe it's only a dream but a race that would feature Edmond and Scotty Richardson, Jeff Taylor, Peter Biondo, Kevin Helms, Gary Stinnett, Dan Fletcher, Jeff Lane, David Rampy, Jeg Coughlin, almost any member of the Folk family and, well, you get the idea, would be pretty cool wouldn't it? It would be fun to see just who is the best sportsman racer in the country?

Jerry Silveus

Speaking of which, Jim Harrington has quietly moved into top ten status in both Super Stock and Stock and Jim has a pretty good track record over the years. Jim will mix it up with Jerry Silveus, Jerry Emmons and Dennis Nelson for a while at the top of the pack but with the way the divisional races are staggered, we won't get a real idea of who the Super Stock and Stock contenders are for a while. The aforementioned misters Biondo and Stinnett are lurking there, too, so let's not count them out. Several of the traveling sportsman racers often run up a lot of national points early in the season since they tend to show up at almost all of the national races. Then they have to pick and choose which divisional events to attend to round out there points totals. That's what makes the sportsman racing so exciting and so frustrating at the same time. For now, Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. and Clint Blezien also share a spot at or near the top of the standings and both of them are off to very good starts this year. Now, if they can just keep it up.

Jim Repka

The "90" categories feature a lot of familiar names, likes Erks, Castillo, Henderson and Ewing in the Super Comp ranks and Erks and Fuqua in Super Gas. But then there is also Jim Repka in Super Gas along with the young but talented Jason Kenny and the veteran but talented Jerry Virgadamo. Because of the sheer number of cars in the ranks of Super Comp and Super Gas to win there really is a test. And by that I mean winning a round, a race, a division title and the national crown. When I watch the men and women who run in the sportsman ranks I am continually amazed at how good they are at what they do. To be double-zero on the tree and run within thousandths of a second of the dial is simply amazing and to win in these categories you have to do that over and over again.

This mid-season snap shot is not designed to pick any of the winners in the sportsman classes, because I've discovered over the years that is almost impossible to do. Rather it's simply a chance to acknowledge some, but not all, of the drivers who have done well for the first half of the season. It's always a treat to go to a national event where all of the sportsman classes are running and I look forward to a couple of the west coast races for that reason. That and the fact that it means we're getting closer to sorting out who the contenders will be for the national championships. As much attention as is paid, and rightfully so, to the professional racers, the sportsman really are what drag racing is all about and it's a pleasure to watch the best racers in the country go at it at the NHRA national events. Now, let the racing begin, or in the case of the sportsman racers, let the racing continue.