Tue, 23 Oct 2007, 11:24 PM Sixteen Drivers. Eight Rounds. Two Races. One Goal.

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2007 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Llewellyn's win in Dallas.

The final two races of the 2007 season will be contested over the next two weeks and when they're over we will know who the 2007 POWERade champions will be, but not before. Now that's a statement that we haven't been able to say before but we can now thanks to the new points system. Every time I write about how much I like the new "Countdown to the Championship" I get the obligatory e-mails about how much of a "company guy" I am, and while that may be true, the simple fact is that we will have two races where every run will have some impact on the championship and that's good. At least I think it is. The drama from Doug Herbert's stunning win at Maple Grove to Peggy Llewellyn's equally emotional win in Dallas, to Richie Stevens' win over Kurt Johnson in Virginia has made this a very enjoyable season from a fan's point of view. Now, the sixteen drivers who have been good enough to make the cut will go to Las Vegas and Pomona in an effort to close the deal and win the championship.

Tony Schumacher

In the Top Fuel class you will have two drivers who have already won the POWERade championship and two who will be looking for their first title. Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon, who have won six championships between them, will be joined by Rod Fuller and Brandon Bernstein in an effort to close the deal over the next two races. Tony will be looking to make history by becoming only the second TF driver to win five national championships, joining Joe Amato on that very short list. He will also try to become the first Top Fuel driver to win four consecutive championships. Larry, meanwhile, will look to win his first crown since he went back-to-back in 2002 and 2003. The other two contenders, Rod and Brandon, will be in uncharted waters as they try to cope with the stress that comes with running for an NHRA championship, and believe me, there is stress associated with it. If you don't believe that, just ask Ron Capps who has been through it before and he'll tell you that every round puts knots in your stomach. Rod and Brandon both have very good teams behind them so they shouldn't have to worry about how

Brandon Bernstein

their cars will perform, but they may have to worry about themselves. The drivers, as I've mentioned before, are like the quarterbacks in football, and by that I mean that when things go well they get all the credit and when things go bad they get all the blame. Whether that's right or wrong that's the way it is. Win on a holeshot and you're a hero, lose on a holeshot and you want to hide somewhere. And just think how much more focus will be on the drivers over the course of the next two weeks. From the press conferences to the interviews by the ESPN folks, these sixteen drivers will be the focal point of the sport for the next two weeks and it will be interesting to see how they respond to the pressure.... There really doesn't seem to be a clear cut favorite going into these last two races in any class. Brandon Bernstein comes into the "Countdown" tied for the most wins in the class this year, five, with Tony Schumacher. And if you look at the head-to-head matches between the top four drivers this year, Brandon would certainly seem to have an edge. Did you know that he is 7-2 against the other three drivers in the "Countdown" this year? He is also undefeated against both Rod Fuller and Larry Dixon this year, against whom he is a combined 5-0. Did you know that the only other driver of the four who has

Larry Dixon

a winning record against the "Countdown" drivers is Tony Schumacher who is 6-4 against Rod, Larry and Brandon? Larry is 4-7 while Rod is 3-7 against the other guys who are running for the championship, and while that may not mean much, at this time of the year you look for every advantage you can get....If momentum means anything, and it is often thrown around in sports as a very big factor, Tony Schumacher doesn't have it. Did you know that the "Sarge" hasn't won a round since his big win at Indy? That's the kind of stuff that could get a guy demoted. Tony did make some good runs during the test session in Vegas last week, recording a best of 4.521 at better than 330 miles per hour. Everyone acknowledges that Alan Johnson is a genius when it comes to tuning these cars, but he, Tony and the rest of the Army team will need to find a way to get out of the first round if they want to defend their championship. Did you know that Tony has lost

Doug Kalitta

twelve times in the first round this year and that he has lost to ten different drivers in those twelve races? Both Bob Vandergriff and Doug Foley have beaten Tony twice in opening rounds and that can't happen again to the Army team or Tony won't be the one giving the acceptance speech when they hand out the POWERade championship trophy. As tough as the first rounds have been on Tony this year, he has only tied his record for most opening round losses in a season. Did you know that he also lost twelve times in round one back in 2001 when he finished eighth in the points? The real difference between the two years is the fact that in 2001 Tony didn't qualify #1 at a single event, and this year he's done it ten times....Doug Kalitta flexed a little of that MAC Tools muscle in Virginia and he could be a real big spoiler over these next two races. Doug will have a special paint job for the race and he'll also have everyone from movies stars to car designers to X-game stars and more on hand with him this week. You know, now that I think about it, when I think of the X-games Doug Kalitta is the first guy I think of. OK, maybe the second after me. Doug may be a great driver but I don't see him doing a double-throw-down-super-quasi-flip off the half-pipe. Whatever!! By the way,

Hillary Will on Jolt Icymint

would you agree with me that Evel Knievel was the first real X-games star?....Hillary Will and her Ken Black-owned team have joined together with Jolt Energy Gum for a nice promotion. Packs of the gum will be distributed nationally with Hillary's picture on the outside and a chance to win a weekend at a racing school inside. It's a nice deal and I'll say this, it's already more than a lot of sponsors have done with their teams, even ones that have sponsored teams and drivers for years. Hillary is a really nice person and Ken and Kenny Black have invested a lot in this team and I hope this promotion works out well for everyone.David Grubnic will have "Dangerous" Dan Henderson, the world champion in mixed martial arts, in his camp this weekend. As part of a promotion with their sponsor, David will have Dan's picture on his car on Saturday and Sunday this week as they promote Endothil and Oxydrene, two products that help promote strength and endurance without steroids. Let me tell you, as good as Dan is in his field, nothing says strength and endurance like a Top Fuel dragster. Nothing!!

John Force at Baylor press conference.

As of right now John Force plans to be in Las Vegas on Friday for the race. As of right now he is also planning on staying there for just the one day. As of right now I'm covering all bets on the fact that John leaves town after one day. I might even give odds on that and I never give odds. John, who flew home to California this past weekend, is still really hobbled by his injuries and it's difficult for him just to get in and out of a car, a regular car, let alone spend a lot of time on his feet at the track. He plans on being at the race on Friday to support his team and, obviously, do the thing that he does best and that is meet and greet the fans, and believe me, even that won't be easy for him. With Robert Hight in the thick of the title chase, John wants to be there for moral support but he might not have the stamina needed to hang out all weekend long. As we all know, if John's there the fans will want to see him. And if the fans want to see him John won't disappoint them. And if John doesn't disappoint them it may get his medical staff a little upset. The one thing that John (or any patient) has to remember, is that the medical professionals know best and you have to listen to them. Having said that, it's great to see that John is back home and on the mend, although I believe this will be a long, hard road for him over the next few months. I also know that he certainly appreciates the support of his family and friends and all the loyal fans who have been there for him during his ordeal, and I'm sure that's something that he will never forget....Like the Top Fuel class, the Funny car class doesn't seem to have any real odds-on favorite. Any of the four are certainly capable of winning it all and there really can't be a surprise winner. Of the four, Robert and Gary Scelzi have winning records

Tony Pedregon

this year against the others, Ron Capps and Tony Pedregon don't. Tony actually doesn't have a winning record against any of the other three guys this year. He is 1-2 vs. Capps, 2-2 vs. Robert and he is 0-1 against Scelzi in 2007....When testing was all done last week Tony had recorded the best time, a 4.733, which was closely followed by Jack Beckman's 4.753 and Robert's 4.757. All of the Team Schumacher cars made runs and so did Ashley Force and Phil Burkart who was driving for John Force. Phil's times during testing were a little misleading because he never made a full run. "We were really in full test mode," Phil told me. "We made a lot of runs but never went more than about a thousand feet under power and that was all pre-determined." Phil, who will be in Las Vegas this weekend (and I'm not saying that he'll be driving, I'm just saying that he'll be there.of course I'm also not saying that he won't be driving), had nothing but glowing comments about the entire Team Force operation. Basically he said that it's easy to see why the team wins

Mike Neff

championships, because they are all so professional in every thing they do with those cars. "Like I said last week, it's the highlight of my career just to drive that car for John and the team even if it was only in testing." Gee, I wonder how he'll feel if he gets the call to drive it for real this weekend?...Mike Neff completed the required runs to get his Funny Car license and he'll be in Las Vegas this weekend, too. Now I'm not saying that he'll be driving, but the again, oh well, you know. Mike made nine runs in Vegas and the entire Team Force entourage made a grand total of twenty-four runs. That's a bunch, even for John's team..

Dave Connolly

In Pro Stock I guess you would have to say that Dave Connolly is the favorite, although the big question is, "how many races in a row can he win?" Coming in with five consecutive victories, Dave and the Torco team certainly appear to be the front-runners in the battle for the championship. The Team Cagnazzi cars, including Dave and Jeg Coughlin, were in Tucson testing on Monday and Tuesday and that comes on the heels of a lot of testing back east before they headed for the west coast. Dave is on an incredible roll and he'll be tough to beat, but Greg Anderson, Jeg and Allen Johnson also have thoughts of winning the championship so it should be some fight. Of the four, Greg has the best record against the other three this year, sporting a lofty 14-7 mark against them, and that includes a 6-4 mark against Dave and an even better 7-2 mark against Jeg. Dave is next best with a 10-8 record against the other "Countdown" drivers while Jeg is 6-10 and Allen is 3-8 against the others this year. Like I said earlier, not that it has anything to do with what goes on in the future, but being on the plus side of the ledger against your primary foes is a good thing. If you can do that over the next eight rounds it could be a very good thing ....Allen Johnson and his dad, Roy, have to be loving life right now. Remember, it was earlier this year that Roy almost died of a heart attack at Phoenix and now, to be running for the championship, has to be a dream come true for the

Hulk Hogan

entire family. Allen is already guaranteed of having the best finish of his twelve year career and he is only a few rounds away from winning the championship. Did you know that, regardless of how Allen does in these last two races, he will still record the best finish for a Dodge car since Larry Morgan finished fourth in 2004 with his Stratus? Should he go on and win the whole thing, Allen will be the first Mopar driver to win the championship since Darrell Alderman in 1994....Kurt Johnson will fly the AC Delco colors this weekend in Las Vegas and he'll be joined by the world famous Hulk Hogan. You know, now that I think about it, when I think of big, tough wrestlers Kurt is the first guy that I think of. OK, maybe the second after me. Kurt may be a good driver but I don't see him performing a "sidewalk slam" or a "side Russian leg sweep" against anyone. Did you know that Hulk Hogan used to come to the Diamond P studios in Florida when he was doing satellite hookups for the pay-per-view TV shows? I had several opportunities to chat with him when he stopped by the studio and he is a nice guy and he really loves cars. Should be some fun this weekend.

Andrew Hines

The motorcycles return to action this weekend and, again, it would be hard to pick a winner. All four of the contenders, Andrew Hines, Matt Smith, Chip Ellis and Peggy Llewellyn all have what it takes to win the title including good motorcycles, good teams and good sponsors. Of the four, only Andrew has won the championship before and he's looking for his fourth title and that experience could be a huge factor for him. Of the four, Andrew has the best head-to-head record against the others, a solid 8-1 mark that includes a 5-0 record against Matt Smith this year. Now that's impressive. Andrew also has the most wins in the class this year with four, while Matt Smith is next with three wins, Peggy has one and Chip Ellis is still looking for his first win of the year. Did you know that, not only has Chip not won a race this year, he hasn't even been to a final round since Sonoma of last year? Still, he has won enough rounds to make the "Countdown," and with the power he has in the G-Squared, Drag Specialties entry, he could go all the way..There could be a surprise rider in both Las Vegas and in Pomona, one who could possibly win the race. Stay tuned....Still waiting to hear what the status is for both Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown next year. Angelle certainly has a great resume to sell to a potential sponsor and I'd be stunned if she didn't get a ride for 2008. It's not a "seller's market" normally in our sport, although I think it will be in

Peter Biondo

the near future, but if anyone has what it takes to attract a sponsor it's Angelle. She's a great rider, has won three championships, is great with the fans and very well spoken. For those reasons alone I think she will get a deal to continue to race....Antron, meanwhile, would like to step up to the fuel cars, and if he gets a shot with the David Powers' team during some test sessions, I would look for him to get that open seat next year. Now I'm not saying that because I have any inside information and it's not a rumor. I just think that if David puts him in the seat for some test runs, Antron will do well and we'll have a new Top Fuel driver next year. Antron has been good at everything he has ever tried and I don't expect anything different if he's in a Top Fuel car.

With all of the excitement at the Division 2 race in Georgia this past weekend, we did have one lead change in the battle for the Lucas Oil World Championship. Peter Biondo, who went to the final round in both Super Stock and Stock Eliminator, did pass Darren Smith to take over the top spot. Now, since he is all out of races to claim, Peter will head west and see what he can do to keep Darren from adding more points in Vegas and Pomona. As always, the sportsman racers will provide some of the best action at both venues over the next two races....Since I mentioned web sites and rumors earlier in this column, I want to put to rest another rumor that has made the rounds. Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Cars will continue to be part of the NHRA national events for the foreseeable future. I know that's not what you've read, but it is a fact. Really.