Wed, 3 Jan 2007, 12:24 PM Welcome To 2007

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2007 Auto Imagery, Inc. and NHRA

Ken Koretsky

The first of the professional test sessions will begin in just a couple of weeks and I fully expect to start hearing numbers from the Pro Stock test sessions which will take place in Florida as early as this week. I spoke with Ken Koretsky over the weekend and he is really excited about his new ride, a brand new Rick Jones car that he will field with Greg Hill under the Indicom Electric banner. Did you know that Kenny, also known as "Captain Chaos" because of his frantic life style, competed in his first Pro Stock race back in 1987? Kenny has been involved with the sport in some way, shape or form for the better part of twenty years now and he has done a lot, but the one thing he wants to accomplish before he hangs up his driving gloves is to win an NHRA national event. "I came close at Indy in 2004 (runner-up) and that just makes me want to win one even more," Kenny told me. Of course with all of the changes going on with his Top Fuel operation there's no telling where he might show up for the pre-season testing this year....One guy who is more enthused about the new year than almost anyone is the "Professor," Warren Johnson. Warren has made a nice addition to his team by adding Terry Adams to his crew. I have always thought that Terry was one of the best guys in the sport when it comes to getting a car down the track and he will be a huge plus for Warren (and Kurt) this year. "I'm probably in better shape getting ready to go into this year than I have been in quite some time, "Warren told me today. "We have

Terry Adams

Warren Johnson

some really enthusiastic people on the team and we're all pulling in the same direction and it should be exciting." Warren will open the season with the same Pontiac GTO that he finished 2006 with. When I asked Warren about his great start last year, a start that included a win in Phoenix, and why he didn't maintain that same level of performance for the rest of the year he said, "If I knew I would have fixed it." I have to be honest, as soon as I asked the questions I kind of knew the answer, but I thought I'd try. A conversation with Warren is always entertaining and informative. Of course he will get inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame this year which will be one more well deserved honor for the "Prof." Expect to see Warren testing in Valdosta and then making an appearance at the Las Vegas race for the Pontiac sponsored Pro Stock show the week before the season opening race in Pomona. By the way, if what I hear is true, there will be a TV show coming out of that race in Vegas and that should help increase the size of the field. Warren will be running the second year of his self-imposed three year driving plan, the one he announced at Indy when he un-retired in 2004. "I have committed to driving this year and then we'll see what 2008 brings when that comes around." he told me. I know you've probably heard this before, but I really think WJ is primed for a really good season. I know I would like to see him reach that 100 win mark (he has 96 now) before he hangs up his driving gloves. Besides, if he's not there, who can we count on to give us a good staging battle every now and then?...Rodger Brogdon is still poised to make his Pro Stock debut this year, if the reports I hear are true. Rodger, who was very competitive in the Competition Eliminator class for the past several years, will have power from the David Nickens' shop and should, if all goes according to plan, start the season out in California. Rodger has always surrounded himself with talented people and I wouldn't be surprised to see him come up with a really good sponsor before too long. He's a racer and a businessman and that can be translated into success on the track as well as off. Rodger will be running a Dodge just like Erica Enders who will also have power from the Nickens' operation.

Scott Griffin

One of the newer teams on the tour this year will be mixing it up with some pretty good company even before the season begins. Scott Griffin, who ran the Serta sponsored Top Fuel car last year, will be on tour again in 2007 running a combination of NHRA and IHRA national events. Before the season even begins Scott and his company will be honored by the North Carolina Motorsports Association for their marketing ideas last year. Scott put together a program that introduced the Serta people to the folks at Accor Hotels, the parent company for Motel 6 among others, and the end result was that Serta became a key vendor for Accor, and that, as you can imagine, is a good deal for everyone. Scott's company and his team are among the finalists for the N.C.M.A Industry Marketing award, which is one of the most prestigious awards given by the organization. Among the other finalists are Lowe's Motorsports and DuPont Motorsports. The way I see it, win, lose or draw that's great company for Scott be in and it speaks well for his talents and, indirectly, for all of the drag racing community. Anytime you're mentioned in the same breath with folks like Lowe's and DuPont, you're doing well. Let's hope that Scott can parlay that

Rod Fuller

Whit Bazemore

into a program that will enable him to run all of the NHRA POWERade races this year. And, while they haven't officially listed their new driver, if you're a faithful reader of this column you know who it is. In case you didn't know, Scott's car, with Lance Larsen tuning and Andrew Cowin driving, won their first race at the IHRA event in Milan, Michigan last year...The David Powers' cars, both of them, will be out and testing at the Phoenix session in a few weeks and that should, from what I hear, include both Whit Bazemore and Rod Fuller. Everyone I've talked to and everything that I hear indicates that David will field two cars, the primary one sponsored by Matco Tools and the other one with some Valvoline sponsorship along with another major sponsor. At least that's what I hear. Of course until everything, or anything for that matter, is officially announced, it's all speculation at this point. I just know that Rod did a good job for the team last year and I, for one, would love to see him stay with the Powers' operation. Stay tuned...

Del and Chuck Worsham

I spoke with Phil Burkart the other day and, as you can probably imagine, he's busy working the phones in search of a ride for this year. I know it was tough for Chuck and Del Worsham to make the move they did during the off season but, in this day of high prices and the increasing cost of racing, as a team owner you have to do what is in the best long term interest of the team. As I spoke to Phil I said that, as a guy who ran his own business for almost twenty years, I can appreciate the fiscal responsibilities that go with an operation like Del's. And it's easy for everyone on the outside to say that Phil got a raw deal, but the harsh realities of it are that you need to have a good bottom line if you want to stay in business. I don't pretend to know the numbers that are involved, but let's take a "for instance." Let's say Phil was making $100,000 (base salary & bonus money) to drive for the Checker, Schuck's & Kragen team last year. And, for the sake of argument, let's say that the deal Jeff Arend is bringing with him, the Erie Education sponsorship, is worth $150,000. Add the two together and you have a net gain of

Don Prudhomme

$250,000 for the CSK team. Now be honest, if you were running the team, what would you do? Having said that I want you to understand that I like and admire both Phil and Jeff, and think the world of Del and his family, but in business you sometimes have to make tough decisions. I wish Del and his team the best during the year and know that they agonized over the decision. I also hope Phil gets a call because he's too good a driver to sit home in all the snow in New York....By the way, mark my words, there could be at least one more driver swap like that coming even before the season starts, and I'm talking about a top ten driver from last year....Look for a major announcement involving the Top Fuel class before the first race of the season, and I'm not talking about any announcement that Don Prudhomme is going to make. Speaking of that, I give the "Snake" a lot of credit for keeping most of his sponsor news under wraps. Believe me, as soon as word leaks out that you are talking to a sponsor, every other team who has a proposal made up will have it on that sponsor's table before your meeting is even held. I know, because that already happened this off season to a couple of teams. A word to the wise, if you have a good prospect, keep it to yourself because no good can come from spreading it around until the check has cleared....Still in that same line of thinking, let me quote from a very well known automotive publication that said, "There aren't that many racers who have a great deal of financial backing. Other than those with major non-automotive sponsors, (a mere handful), those with independent money are few and far between. The current state of the nation's economy hasn't made it any easier. Sponsorship support is dwindling which makes landing a major sponsor difficult at best." Where did I read that? How about Car Craft magazine, in the February issue...1975!! The more things change the more they stay the same....

Jack Beckman

A lot of deals should be solidified in the next two weeks and that may include some more announcements for Don Schumacher. Why do I say that? Well, we haven't heard anything from Don in a while and that's not like him. He always seems to come up with a new car, a new driver and a new sponsor and I wouldn't be surprised if he has an announcement or two before the season starts. Funny, isn't it, that teams like Don Schumacher's, Don Prudhomme's and Kenny Bernstein always seem to come up with the top notch, high class sponsors for their operations. The deals are out there but you can't wait for them to come to you....Oh, you can take this to the bank, Jack Beckman will be driving a Funny Car this year. Wait, I said that in December. Anyway, from what I hear, they were fitting Jack for a new Murph McKinney car recently and it had the engine in the front and I take that to mean it's a Funny Car. I don't know for a fact but I would expect that MTS (Mail Terminal Services) will be on board as well as the other Team Schumacher sponsors like Matco, Oakley, Valspar and the others. Now remember, I said that's what I expect.

The Koppien family.

Finally, I would like to send my condolences to the family of Aaron Koppien who died over the weekend. Aaron was a great kid (24 years old) who enjoyed racing as much or more than anyone in the family. The story that I did last year on the family really highlighted how much they loved drag racing and each other. The fact that they let another racer use their car for the Jeg's All Star race in Chicago last year also showed how much they cared for their fellow racers. Aaron and his family have been fixtures on the Division 5 trail for many years and they are admired by their fellow racers for their friendship and dedication to the sport. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. Aaron will be greatly missed by all of us in the racing community and by those who knew him on a personal basis.