Tue, 2 Oct 2007, 09:48 PM Another Tough Loss

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2007 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Wally Parks

They say there are two things that are inevitable in life, death and taxes, and as true as that may be it never makes either one of them any easier. We all knew that Wally Parks couldn't live forever, although we all hoped that he would. At the age of ninety-four Wally was as mentally alert as a man half his age, and more alert than most. Of course the rigors of age slowed him down a bit physically but when you looked at him you could still see that spark in his eyes, that spark that said, "I've had a good life and I've enjoyed every day of it." I'll never forget a conversation that I had with Wally about two years ago. We were standing behind the tower in Pomona and he was making his daily visit to the Winternationals. We chatted for a while and then I said to him, "Wally, my big goal in life is to be in as good shape as you are when I'm your age." Without missing a beat Wally said to me, "Bob, you're not in as good shape as I am at your age!!" I laughed, we shook hands and he walked away. As he did I remember thinking what an amazing man he is. The things he had done, the people he had met, the friends he had made and the sport that he had organized. Few of us will leave behind a legacy like Wally has and we can only hope that we will be remembered as fondly as he is. Condolences have poured in from all over the world and they are all richly

Wally and Barbara

deserved. Wally never met a person or a racer he didn't like, and the feeling was always mutual. I first met Wally at the 1967 Nationals when I was just a spectator, and even then he took a moment to say hi and to welcome me to Indy. It was so special. And every time we met since then he had that same smile and a warm greeting that always made me feel special. I have a copy of the book that Wally wrote back in 1996, a book called "Drag Racing....Yesterday and Today." Ironically, the book was a gift from Wally to George Hurst and it is signed with one line that says, "To George Hurst, in appreciation of all you have done to help elevate this great pastime of ours." Amazing, isn't it, that Wally would thank someone else, even someone as influential as George Hurst, for what they have done for drag racing? But that's the kind of guy he was, a man who always appreciated the efforts of every person to promote the sport that we all love. And the dedication in the book tells it all when it says... "Dedicated to the countless thousands of automotive enthusiasts known as hot rodders whose devotion to their hobby has made possible the sport's progress and development." Nobody meant as much to the sport and its progress and development as Wally. I was reading some of the condolences on nhra.com and one really said it all. It was from Ric Lee in Michigan and it simply said, "Wally is why winning a 'Wally' is so special." Anyone who ever met him knows how true that is. Wally will be greatly missed by all of us, and we all know that we are better people and this is a great sport because of the dream, the drive, the spirit and the love of Wally Parks.

Dixon vs. Fuller

Richmond here we come!! This will be the final race before we cut the fields to four and head for Las Vegas and Pomona to decide the 2007 championships. Larry Dixon currently leads the points in Top Fuel with Rod Fuller, Tony Schumacher and Brandon Bernstein the next three. Bob Vandergriff is twenty-one points behind Brandon and that means, unless he can gain a point or two in qualifying, Bob will be more than a round out of fourth going into Sunday and that's huge. Bob has started seven races from the top half of the field this year and this would be a good weekend to make it eight. Cutting that deficit down to less than twenty points, or less than one round, going into Sunday could make all the difference in the world....I can't imagine the kind of pressure all of the teams that are trying to make the final four will be going through this weekend. I watched the playoff game between the Colorado

Bernstein vs. Schumacher

Rockies and the San Diego Padres last night and was thinking how important every pitch and every at bat was to the teams. And then you watch a guy, an all star caliber player, make a bad play, swing at a bad pitch or commit an error and you wonder how could he do that? And then you think about the pressure they are under and you realize how tough it must be to perform flawlessly. It will be the same for these teams in Richmond this week. And, of course, most of the pressure will be on the drivers because that's the way it goes in our sport. Our drivers are like the closers in baseball or the quarterbacks in football. If they win, they get all the credit and if they lose they get all the blame. It really shouldn't be that way, after all, these are team sports, aren't they? Drag racing is the same way. As much credit or blame as we give the drivers, it still is a team sport. Everyone has to do their job in order to get to this point and everyone must execute properly if they want to win. But just imagine what the drivers are going through when they pull to the line knowing that a round win will get them in and a loss will drop them out of contention. Leave a little early and you'll get a red light, leave a little late and you'll lose on a holeshot. It must be

Ormsby vs. Amato

nerve wracking. I remember speaking with Joe Amato years ago when he was in the midst of another tight points battle. I told him that I hoped it went down to the last run on the last day, just like it did in 1990. "Not me," he said, "I couldn't handle another weekend like that one." And he was the winner! Having said that, good luck to all the drivers and teams who are still in contention, it should be fun this weekend. Well, at least for us it will be fun.... Whit Bazemore comes into the weekend in sixth place, seventy-four points out of fourth, with Doug Herbert seventh and JR Todd eighth. For those teams it's a real uphill fight but it's not impossible that they could make the cut, it just depends on what the teams in front of them do as much as what they do themselves....Being that this race is sponsored by Torco, Terry McMillen, who drives a Torco-sponsored Top Fuel car, will be in the house. We haven't

Terry McMillen

seen Terry on the NHRA scene since he competed in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class back in 1999. It will be interesting to see how he does on the NHRA circuit.... Speaking of which, how sweet must it have been for Clay Millican to go back to the IHRA tour and win again? Clay beat TJ Zizzo at the Budd's Creek event this past week and maybe that will give him some momentum coming into Richmond this week. Nice job by Clay, Johnny West and the rest of that team.... By the way, everyone who would have had Larry Dixon and the Skytel team leading the points at this juncture of the season please raise your hand. Gee, I don't see a lot of hands in the air. Don Bender and Todd Smith have done a wonderful job with that car and they may be the only ones who like their position going into this week's race.... Rod Fuller and Tony Schumacher are in good position to advance although they could switch spots depending on what happens this weekend, and every advantage you can get going into Las Vegas could go a long way towards deciding who is the 2007 champion.

Scelzi vs. Capps

The Funny Car class has three drivers just outside the top four who are all capable of winning the race and the championship. Ron Capps is in fifth place, Gary Scelzi is in sixth and Mike Ashley in seventh. Since John Force won't be racing this weekend his spot, the fourth and final one in the "Countdown" is up for grabs and any one of those three could take it. Only Tony Pedregon and Robert Hight appear safe although a DNQ in Richmond could change all of that. Consider that fact that Tony, the leader right now, is only seventy-one points ahead of Capps and you'll realize how important just making the field is. Did you know that Tony has one DNQ this year while Robert has two, including the last race in Dallas? Both Gary and Ron have also missed the field

Tony Pedregon

once while Mike Ashley has the strangest resume with five DNQ's this year to go along with his four final rounds and three wins. Even so, Mike is only fifteen points behind John Force as we head into this all important event, so it looks like qualifying and first round pairings could make or break some teams this weekend....John Force has said that he and his team will now look into building even safer Funny Cars, ones that would have the driver fully enclosed in a "tub-like" compartment that would help prevent injuries like the ones John suffered in his crash last week in Dallas. And, as of this time, it's not known whether or not John's other two cars, Robert's and Ashley's, will be in Richmond this weekend. >From what I hear, John has said that if the cockpits of the cars aren't reinforced by this weekend, the team won't race. I also understand that Robert's car is done and Ashley's is in the process but there is no word yet as to her status for the Richmond race. I fully expect both teams to be in Richmond but I also would understand it if they're not. Nobody knows more than John that

Robert Hight

there are more important things than winning races and championships and he will make the decision that he thinks is best for his team. Stay tuned because this situation literally changes every few minutes.... By the way, since were' talking about John and his Fords, the big rumor going around has his good friend, Bob Tasca, stepping up to the fuel funny car class next year. If he does it will be very interesting to see how he makes the transition. In the alky class, Bob has been as good as anyone and better than most, but it's a quantum leap to the fuel class. If this pans out, as I think it will, Bob will be a welcome addition to the class. It will be very interesting to see who Bob picks to serve as crew chief on the fuel car. His current main man, Ralph Poirer, has done a great job with the alky car but he may need some help if they join the fuel ranks. I spoke with Bob today and he told me that his dream, since he started racing in the alky class, has always been to run a fuel car. "There's nothing signed, Bob," he told me, "but I am cautiously optimistic that we can get something together." Bob also told me that he spoke with John last night and John was in good spirits. And then he said something that really sums up the situation with John, his teams and the Funny Car class in general. "I told him that his legacy, even more than all the races and the championships that he has won, will be that he left the class and the sport a safer place than it was when he started." That is absolutely true and that's what makes John the special person he is, and all the racers should appreciate him for his efforts and for what he, his team, Ford and everyone has done for the safety of the sport.... Of course, going back to what the GM folks did with the HANS devices a few years ago, from the testing to the distribution of them, it all just goes to show how much support we really get from the manufacturers and they should know how much everyone appreciates it.

Connolly vs. Anderson

The Pro Stock class is the only one of the top three classes that already has two drivers locked into the final Countdown. Dave Connolly, the leader, and Greg Anderson, in second place, have locked up spots and they will both aim to secure their position or, in Greg's case, move up this weekend. Allen Johnson, who may be the biggest surprise in the Pro Stock class this year, and Jeg Coughlin hold down spots numbers three and four. Jason Line is in fifth and he is less than a round behind Jeg, while Kurt Johnson is sixth, eleven points behind Jason. Larry Morgan is fifty points out of fourth and Warren Johnson is in eighth place, eighty-six points behind Jeg. So, the way I see it, that fourth and final spot is up for grabs and Allen probably isn't safe in third place, either. Since making the field is very important this weekend I thought I'd point out that Allen has missed one field this year, while Jeg and Jason have qualified for all twenty races in 2007. Did you know that Greg Anderson currently has the longest qualifying streak in Pro Stock at 113 consecutive

Allen Johnson

races? Not surprisingly, Jason is next at 93 while Jeg is third having qualified for 60 consecutive races. Jason has flirted with missing the field a couple of times this year and his number sixteen spot in Maple Grove almost derailed his title hopes, but he did qualify and that's what he has to do this weekend. Did you know that Jason has never failed to make a starting field in his Pro Stock career?...The entire Pro Stock class should be exciting this week and it will be interesting to see what the parings are after qualifying is over....Dave Connolly is certainly coming in on a roll, isn't he? With four consecutive wins he has vaulted to the top of the standings and he looks almost unbeatable right now. Almost being the operative word here. Did you know that, in addition to winning the last four races, Dave has won five of the last seven events? And did you know that the only guy to beat him over that seven race span is Greg Anderson? It's surprising, at least to me, when you look at the entire thirty-seven year history of the Pro Stock class and find out that there have only been twenty-four drivers who have ever led the points. There aren't many surprises when you look at the list of Pro Stock point's leaders but there is one that did surprise me. Did you know that Tony Christian once was at the top of the point's list in Pro Stock? And you might think that it came after winning the Winternationals, but that's not the case. No, Tony led after the fourth race of the season in 1988, a season when he finished third in the

Frank Manzo

points. I don't know about you, but I forgot that he had that kind of year in '88...I can't wait for the first qualifying session this week because Pro Stock is going to be so exciting. And speaking of guys who were at the top, did you know that Barry Grant once qualified number one in Virginia? Maybe someone else will go to the head of the class this weekend and shake up the troops. Then again....

Congratulations to Frank Manzo who locked up his 11^th Lucas Oil World Championship this past week with his win in Georgia. Actually, Frank's win didn't give him the title as much as Jay Payne's loss did. Jay needed to win the race to keep his title hopes alive and when he lost to Monty Todd in round one the battle for the top spot was all over....I t also looks like Frank Aragona Jr. will be the 2007 Competition Eliminator champion. The closest guy to him, David Eaton, doesn't have enough races left to claim to be able to catch Frank, and neither do any of the other drivers in the class. Way to go, Frank, or should I say both Franks....