Wed, 10 Oct 2007, 09:22 AM It Was Intense!

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2007 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Bernstein vs. Vandergriff

Anyone who doesn't think that the new championship format that NHRA instituted this year isn't bringing more excitement to the sport obviously wasn't in Virginia this past weekend. All you had to do was watch the reaction of Bob Vandergriff's crew when he lost to Brandon Bernstein in the first round, ending Bob's chances of putting the UPS car in the Countdown. Or watch Allen Johnson's reaction on the starting line when his teammate, Richie Stevens, beat Kurt Johnson in round two, a win that guaranteed Allen a spot in the Countdown. Or listen to Jack Beckman talk about how tough it was to watch his teammates, Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi, win rounds and eliminate him from title contention. Or spend some time in the media center when the press was clamoring to hear from Jack after his elimination. Or watch Gary Scelzi's reaction after he won the race and earned the second spot in the

Johnson vs. Stevens

Countdown to One. And, I'm sure, if you were in Texas with John Force, the fact that he won't get a chance to run for another championship probably hurts more than his physical injuries. It was one very intense weekend, and it will be repeated in two weeks in Las Vegas and then in Pomona. I know there are those who don't like the new format and haven't from the beginning and never will, and that's their prerogative, but I'll tell you this, it has brought a lot of excitement to the races and has brought a lot more attention to the sport than we would have had without it. And that's coming from someone who goes to every race and has seen his share of exciting point's

Scelzi vs. Capps

battles. It's also coming from someone who has seen a lot of titles decided by Indy when the remaining races become like really high profile match races. It's also coming from a guy who remembers when all you had to do was win the last race of the season and you would be the World Champion. Is it a perfect system? Probably not. Does everyone like it? Of course not. Did everyone have the same opportunity to make the Countdown and run for the championship? Yes they did. Was Doug Herbert's win in Maple Grove thrilling and exciting? Yep. Did Peggy Llewellyn electrify the crowd in Dallas when she won her first race to make the Countdown? She sure did. Will any of that change the opinion of those who don't like the format? Nope. Are there still those who don't like the designated hitter in baseball, the lights at Wrigley Field in Chicago or the fact that they play some football games inside? Are there those who didn't like the switch from flag starters to the electronic system? Did a lot of people predict that the LED lights would kill the sport? Will everyone always agree on the perfect way to run a race or a point's system? And will there be those who say that I defend the system because I work for NHRA? All of those questions are rhetorical and you know the answers, but I will tell you this, the new system has brought a lot of attention to the sport that we wouldn't have had otherwise, and for that reason alone I like it. Now, let the Countdown begin!!

Rod Fuller

It's hard to argue the fact that Larry Dixon, Rod Fuller, Tony Schumacher and Brandon Bernstein have the four best cars in the Top Fuel class this year. Tony has been in the top four spots after thirteen races this year, Brandon has been in the top four since his win in Las Vegas and Larry has been there since his win in Chicago. Did you know that Rod Fuller is the only TF driver who has been in the top four spots for the entire season? Along with Rob Flynn and his entire Caterpillar team, Rod has driven well, run well and has put himself in place to win his first NHRA POWERade championship. Of course it won't be easy but he will go into the Las Vegas race second in the points and he will be tough to beat. One of the keys to winning the championship will be simply getting out of the first round. Did you know that both Rod and Brandon have lost five times in the opening round this year? By comparison, Larry has dropped seven opening round encounters while Tony has been stopped an amazing dozen times in round one. And of those twelve losses seven have come after Tony qualified number one in the field. Now that's amazing, isn't it? In fact, as much as we talk about the jinx of qualifying number one in Top Fuel, and as much as I've never been a big fan of jinxes, you have to wonder what happens to the Army car after qualifying number one. Did you know that this year, at races where he has been the top qualifier, Tony has an overall record of seven wins and nine losses? And four of those round wins came in one race, at Indy. Still, based on past performances you have to think that Alan Johnson and the rest of the Army team will be ready to go

Cory McClenathan

when we get to Las Vegas in two weeks..Tony losing in round one wasn't the exception, it was the rule fore the higher qualified cars in Richmond. Did you know that five of the teams with lane choice in round one, which means they were the higher qualified cars, lost in round one this past week? Only Brandon (#2), Larry (#3) and Doug Herbert (#8) won their first round matches, but that's how tough the TF class has been this year..Cory McClenathan didn't win the race but he did win round one and that gave him 400 round wins for his career. Did you know that Cory is only the third driver in Top Fuel history to win 400 or more rounds? The others would be Larry Dixon who has 452 round wins and Kenny Bernstein with 431. Congratulations Cory..Doug Foley turned in another fine performance with his Mach Series Accelerator car. Doug, who has announced that he will be on the tour full time next year, qualified well and then beat Rod Fuller and Brandon before losing to Doug Kalitta in the semi-finals. Doug has now been to the semis at three of the last five races and over the course of those races he has beaten Tony Schumacher twice (both times in round one) and Rod Fuller twice. Nice job,

Kalitta vs. Troxel

Doug. It's especially nice if you consider the fact that at this time last year he was still hobbled from an accident which curtailed his 2006 racing season..By the way, since there has been a lot of speculation going around about Alan Johnson leaving the Schumacher camp next year, with most of those rumors having him joining Connie Kalitta's team, I asked Connie if there was any truth to that and he said, categorically, no!! So, as far as I'm concerned, we can put that rumor to rest..Doug Kalitta's win was the 30^th of his career and it triggered the usual victory celebration on the line. At least I think it was a celebration. Did you know that the win extends Doug's streak to ten years in a row in which he has won at least one race? While he was waiting to be interviewed by the media after the race, a young boy came up to me and asked if Doug would be coming out. "I'm the biggest Doug Kalitta fan in the world," he said. I went into the press room, got Doug and he came out and spent some time with the boy. Doug is, and always has been, a class act and he was in his interaction with the boy. The folks at MAC Tools have a great representative in Doug and he is a real plus for our sport. And congratulations on the long overdue win.

Jack Beckman

The Funny Car battle in Richmond was also very exciting and, in the end, we had three of the Team Schumacher cars going for the two available spots. In the end, Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi earned their way in while pushing out the Mail Terminal Services car that's driven by Jack Beckman. In Jack's interview he spoke abut how much making the Countdown meant to him and his team and it was apparent that missing the cut was a real blow to him, personally, and the team as a whole. "It hurts," he said. "And you don't want your teammates to lose but that's what had to happen for us to get in. Jack has had a very good year but the Countdown will go on without him. By the way, the Mail Terminal Services project has sent nearly 90,000 cards to our troops oversees and Roger and Karen Comstock are to be commended for putting such a great program together.The folks from Castrol had a great display in the pits where fans could come and sign cards and send their best wishes to John Force. Every time I went by the location there were people in line waiting to sign up so I guess it was a huge success.Tony Pedregon will go into the Countdown as the highest ranked Funny Car driver and he'll be followed by Gary Scelzi, Robert Hight and Ron Capps. Ron edged Jack by twelve points, or less than a round

Tony Pedregon

of racing. Tony also reached a milestone this week when he won the 400^th round of his career. Did you know that only John Force, with an amazing 992 round wins, has won more rounds of racing in the Funny Car class than Tony has? Cory and Tony are two of only eight drivers in the history of the sport to record 400 or more round wins in their careers..Both the Funny Car class and the Top Fuel class will have two drivers going into the Countdown who already have won championships. Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel and Tony Pedregon and Gary Scelzi in Funny Car are all looking to win again and maybe that experience will help them in the last two races..Tommy Johnson broke in round one and wasn't able to race against Cruz Pedregon on Sunday. Tommy, who qualified number one for the second time this year, had to sit by and watch as Cruz went 4.913 for the uncontested win. Did you know that Tommy was the last guy to win a Funny car race after qualifying number one? And did you know that the top Funny Car qualifier has won exactly three times this year?

Connolly vs Gaines

Dave Connolly continues to be the hottest driver in the sport, and his win in Richmond ran his streak to twenty consecutive round wins. I don't care what class you're in, if you win twenty straight rounds you're doing very well. And in true Dave Connolly fashion, he was first off the line in three rounds on Sunday, while the fourth round featured a red light start by his opponent, Richie Stevens...Like the two fuel classes, Pro Stock will have two previous champions running for the title this year. Both Greg Anderson and Jeg Coughlin have Pro Stock championships on their resume while Dave and Allen Johnson will be looking for their first POWERade crown. Allen is already guaranteed to have his best finish ever and it will be the fifth time in his career that he has finished in the top ten in the points. Did you know that his previous best finish was sixth place which he has done twice? Allen will

Allen Johnson

go into the Countdown as the only Mopar in the field and he will be joined by two Chevrolets and one Pontiac. Did you know that Allen will try to become the first Dodge to win the championship since Darrell Alderman did it back in 1994..Dave will see his 134 point lead, what he actually had after the Richmond race, changed to just a ten point lead going into Las Vegas and now he'll know how Greg Anderson felt when his big lead was reduced after the first cut for the Countdown..With only eight rounds of racing remaining winning that first round will be important in the Pro Stock class, too. Up to this point Dave has the best record in the first round of the four contenders with three round one losses. Greg's opening round loss in Richmond was the fourth of the year for the Summit Racing team while Jeg has five and Allen has dropped seven round one matches. With four really good teams going into the Countdown final segment it should be interesting to see how the Pro Stock class plays out. Right now you would have to install Dave as the favorite but then you also have to wonder how long can he continue on this very hot streak?

Grant Lewis, Dan Fletcher, Edmond Richardson and Mike Ruff

Two of the sport's top drivers won in the sportsman classes in Richmond. Dan Fletcher won for the 48^th time in his career and Edmond Richardson won for the 42^nd time. Edmond's win in the Super Comp class also changes the face of the class with regards to the world championship. Shawn Langdon has been leading the points for most of the season but Edmond's win moves him to within striking distance of the title. The way I see it if he wins four rounds at his next divisional race he will pass Shawn and claim his fourth Lucas Oil world Championship. He is also close in the Stock Eliminator class and he could win that one, too. We'll see..Grant Lewis returned to the winner's circle for the first time since 1995 when he beat Russ Linke in the Super Stock final..Out west, when the winds finally died down, young Justin Lamb won Super Stock at the Pacific Sportsnationals and that is the third national event win for Justin and it comes in a third different class.