Wed, 19 Nov 2008, 12:02 PM Take A Few Days Off

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2008 Auto Imagery, Inc.

With the conclusion of the awards ceremony the day after the last race of the year, I can now say that the 2008 POWERade season is officially over. The crowd looked great, the championships were handed out, the speeches were made and the party was on as another drag racing season went into the record books. It also marked the end of the POWERade era in drag racing and the beginning of the Full Throttle partnership with NHRA. I have had the opportunity to talk with a lot of the people involved with the new Full Throttle program and I can tell you that it will be a very interesting and rewarding program for racers and fans alike. The Full Throttle people are very excited about their involvement with drag racing and I expect them to do a lot of things that will raise the visibility of the sport and, especially, a lot of the individual drivers. I'll have more on this during the off-season, but for now, let's just say congratulations to the 2008 POWERade champs and good luck to everyone who will be looking to be the first Full Throttle champion next year.

Tommy Lasorda & Robert Hight

Between the race in Pomona and the awards ceremony in Universal City, there were a lot of highlights and a few unexpected moments. At Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Tommy Lasorda was the Grand Marshall of the race and he really got the fans excited early. Of course he also got them excited about the 2009 Dodgers as much as he did about the race, but it was interesting to note that the former Dodgers' manager stayed at the track for over six hours and that's a long time for an eighty-one year old man. And every time he went into the pits, which he did several times, he was mobbed by fans and autograph seekers. It's always nice when a big name personality comes to the races and enjoys themselves the way Tommy did.....As excited as the fans were to see Tommy, I have to say that the biggest round of applause and fan reaction came after Rod Fuller had beaten Tony Schumacher in the second round. It's not a secret that Rod has fostered the rivalry between himself and Tony, and it's also no secret that Tony has had the best of that rivalry over the years. Did you know that the two have met a total of twenty-five times in their careers and that Tony has won seventeen of those meetings? And prior to the second round in Pomona Tony had won eight of the ten meetings between the two this year. Well, Rod got one back when he beat Tony on a holeshot, 3.862 to Tony's 3.853, and when he

Fuller vs. Schumacher

came back up the return road in front of the crowd he got a huge ovation. "It was a real thrill," he told me. "To have those fans react like that made me feel so good." He added that it was one of the best moments of his drag racing career and I can see why. The response from the fans was amazing and it's been a long time since we heard that kind of ovation for a driver after a round win, especially a round win that didn't have an impact on the championship standings....Tony Schumacher lost that second round match and a chance at history when he was denied a sixteenth national event win this year. Still, he can't be too disappointed since he won his sixth title and set records that will stand for a long while. Or at least they should. Tony almost didn't even get out of the first round when Tim Boychuk gave him quite a scare. Tim, who qualified for the last three races of the year, got off to a huge start and just ran out of steam at the end of the track and Tony caught him and won the round by a few feet. Looking at it, I guess that's what makes good teams become great teams, that is, for one of the few times this year Tony had a sluggish reaction time but he had enough power to catch the guy in the other lane. That's what he meant on Monday night (and throughout the season) when he said that his championship is the result of having a really good team. A look at the Army team will pretty much confirm that there are no weak links and that's why

Dixon vs Fuller

they had the year that they did. I'll have more on Tony's championship season next week.....Larry Dixon won the race and, in the process, finished the season in second place. It was Larry's first win at this event and his fourth at Pomona. For a guy like Larry who loves the history of the sport, to win the "Finals" had to be really exciting. And to finish second meant a lot of bonus money for Larry and the team, at least I assume it does. Larry made reference to the bonus money a couple of times during the weekend so I imagine someone is splitting up that bonus check right about now. It's no secret that Larry's name has been mentioned as a possible driver for the new Alan Johnson dragster next year, but when I asked him about it Larry just said that he is still under contract to Don Prudhomme. It wasn't a great night to press the issue so I let it go. I will tell you this, one other name that popped up was that of a driver who wasn't on stage last night but has been every year for the past decade. Do the math and figure it out for yourself.

Tim Wilkerson

If the ovation that Rod received when he beat Tony was big, it was noting compared to what Tim Wilkerson got when he was introduced as the number two finisher in the Funny Car class. The crowd rose in unison to acknowledge the guy who led the points most of the season. In all the years that I have been in this sport I can't remember a guy who is so universally well liked by his fellow competitors. You'll never hear anyone say a bad word about Tim, either as a racer or as a person. I spoke with him after the ceremony and he said that he was genuinely surprised and humbled by the response from the fans. "I'm not sure it was worth $400,000 (the difference between first and second place)," he joked. "But it was really very special and completely unexpected."...Talk about unexpected, how about the red light by Tim in the first round on Sunday? Did you know that this was the first red light for Tim in over four years? And did you know that it was only the fourth red light in his entire career? The foul came in Tim's 400^th round of racing and it eliminated him from title contention. I spoke with Dick Levi, Tim's good friend and sponsor after the awards ceremony and he had nothing but praise for Tim, his team and his family. It's nice to have someone who supports you and your racing efforts and the relationship between Tim and Mr. Levi has become very special....Cruz Pedregon finished

Pedregon vs. Capps

his championship run in style when he won his third straight race to end the season. It's almost like his 1992 title run when he won five consecutive races to win the championship. The main difference is that this time he did it as a car owner and a driver and that has to give him a great deal of satisfaction. And since I mentioned sponsors, did you see the great full page ad that Advance Auto Parts ran in the USA Today newspaper on Monday? It was a tribute to his year and it also promoted their products. Wouldn't it be great if we had more sponsors who did that in support of their teams? Nice job Advance Auto Parts. Cruz beat John Force in round two, Mike Neff in round three and Ron Capps in the final to secure his 26^th national event win in his 60^th final round. Oh yeah, he also secured his second POWERade championship. Did you know that Cruz's sixteen year gap between national championships is the third longest in history? Sherman Adcock won the Super Gas championship in 1990 and then again in 2007, a span of seventeen years. But the biggest gap was for the late Larry Kopp,

Mike Neff

who won the Modified Eliminator crown in 1976 and then won the Pro Stock Truck championship in 1998. Cruz won the race from the number twelve qualifying spot and that's the first time that that has ever happened at the final race of the year. Did you know that in the thirty-nine times that the Funny Cars have run at the finals the winner has come from the bottom half of the field just five times? And, believe it or not, it has now happened in back-to-back years? Like I often ask, what are the odds?....Mike Neff was named the Rookie of the Year after his top ten finish and three final rounds in 2008. I spoke with Mike after the awards ceremony and he told me what a great experience driving the Ford has been for him, and if he ever does return to being a crew chief, the lessons he has learned as a driver will be invaluable to him. Congratulations to Mike and the entire Old Spice team.....The tribute that was played in honor of Scott Kalitta was very emotional and moving. The Oberhofer brothers did a great job in preparing it and, when it was done, those in attendance gave a standing ovation. It was a very special moment in the evening.....Jerry Toliver moves to the Jim Dunn team next year so where does that leave Tony Bartone? I'll tell you next week.

Anderson vs. Johnson

Greg Anderson finished the year the way he began it, with a sweep of the Pomona race. Did you know this is the third time that Greg has won both Pomona events in the same year and the third time he won the "Finals" after qualifying number one? The top qualifier has now won this race sixteen times in Pro Stock since 1970. Greg beat Kurt Johnson for the title when Kurt fouled out in the final round. Did you know that this was only Kurt's third foul in a final round and that the last one came at Indy in 2003 against Greg Anderson? That foul at Indy came right before Kurt fouled at the next race in Memphis and that's the only other time in his career that he has fouled out at consecutive races until he did it at Las Vegas and Pomona this year. Talk about a tough couple of races, Kurt's last two final rounds, both in the "Countdown," consisted of this foul and the final in Charlotte where he couldn't get his car

Jeg Coughlin

started. According to what I hear, Kurt does have a deal with AC Delco for one more year, although I'm not sure anything is guaranteed in these economic times....Greg's win, coupled with Kurt's loss, moved Greg into second place in the final standings, while Kurt finished third and Mike Edwards fourth....There will a completely new look to the class next year, especially with the cutbacks that are coming from General Motors. Let's just hope that it doesn't affect too many of the teams, especially those that need the assistance the most. I know there will be some movement in the driving ranks, and some will feature top ten drivers from this year or previous years. Stay tuned....Jeg Coughlin was very gracious in thanking his team and crew for their part in his championship run. Of course he has had a lot of practice giving speeches since this is his fifth overall championship, four of them coming in Pro Stock and one in Super Gas. Did you know that in the history of the sport only a dozen people have won five or more national championships? So what are the odds that you would have three of them win championships this year? Tony, Frank Manzo and Jeg are three of that very special dozen racers with five or more season titles.

Rivas vs. Krawiec

I'm sure you know by now that Eddie Krawiec won the Pro Stock Motorcycle championship even though he didn't win a race this year. And I'm sure you know that Rob Bruins also did that in 1979 when he won the Top Fuel crown. But there is something different about the two. Bruins had already won races before that 1979 season while Eddie has yet to win a race. Ricky Decker, who won the Lucas Oil Super Stock title this year, also won the national championship without the benefit of winning a national race. In fact, like Eddie, Ricky has never won a national event and he's been doing this a long time...Eddie went to the final round where he lost to Chris Rivas who had a very good stretch of races during the "Countdown." Chris won in Dallas, Las Vegas and Pomona to finish strong

Hines vs. Krawiec

on the Drag Specialties bike. Chris ended the season in second place while Matt Smith wound up in third place. It's amazing how similar the final race was this year to the one last year with only the names changed. Matt won the race last year to take the title while Chip Ellis lost in the final round and finished third....All was not lost for Matt this weekend since he did propose to his girl friend, Angie McBride and she said yes. While they haven't set a date yet they are now officially engaged....I was really surprised that Andrew Hines even staged his bike in the semi-final round against Eddie. I know everyone or every team wants to put on a good show but strange things can happen when you get a green light against your teammate who needs to win the round. Congratulations to Eddie and the entire Vance & Hines team for winning the championship and for what they've done for the class over the past few years.

Standing: Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Frank Manzo, Brian Forrester and Tom Compton Sitting: Bill Reichert, Lee Zane, Ricky Decker and Dan Fletcher

The Lucas Oil champions were also honored on Monday and five of them were repeat champions. Bill Reichert won his third Top Alcohol Dragster crown, Frank Manzo won his twelfth alky funny car title, Dan Fletcher won his third championship and Lee Zane won his second. Also, Shawn Langdon made a little history when he won his second consecutive Super Comp world title. The first-timers were Rickey Decker in Super Stock and Brian Forrester who won the Super Gas championship for his first national crown.