Tue, 1 Jun 2010, 09:48 PM All Stars, Fast Track And A Great Auction

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

This is going to be a very busy weekend, well, at least for me it is. A four-day race is always busier than a three day one for obvious reasons. Throw in the annual All Star event for the sportsman racers, a huge field of Lucas Oil racers for the national event, a great field of drivers going after Full Throttle points and a very fast track in Joliet and the weekend gets very exciting and extremely busy. Then add in the annual DRAW auction which raises money for injured racers across the country and you're looking at four, fun filled, busy days and I'm looking forward to all of them. The DRAW auction is something like the biblical parable about the prodigal son. It's there every year, helping hundreds (maybe more) of racers who have been injured on the track, and yet it often gets overlooked by a lot of folks in the racing community. Sure there are the faithful ones who attend every year, but there are also a lot, and I mean a lot of people in the racing community who never stop by, never help out and, more importantly, never donate to the cause. And when a special event comes up during the year, or when one particular racer has an event where they raise money, it seems like the entire racing community gets behind it. Make no mistake about it, I applaud everyone who helps out in whatever way and for whatever group they chose. But DRAW has been around for a long time and will be there (hopefully) for a long time to come, and they don't discriminate, they help everyone. So come on, for one night, Saturday in Joliet, lets all get together to help the one drag racing organization that can always be counted on to help anyone, regardless of the class they run in or the track at which they compete. Let's make this DRAW auction a huge success. Besides, with the group of racers who always do stop by, it's a fun night even if you don't buy anything. They already have lots of great items, from helmets to jackets to specially autographed hero cards and much more. I know there will be something there from your favorite driver so stop by, make a bid, help the cause and support your fellow racers in need. See you there.

I'll talk more about the All Star program later this week (in my Thursday column), but I must say that it is one thing that makes this weekend so special. When the best sportsman racers from all over the country converge on one track it really is a great time to be a fan of the Lucas Oil series and the racers who compete in it. I never know which class I enjoy watching the most, but I do know that I like everything about the All Star show. The fun, the excitement, the competition and the individual and team honors all make for one exciting day for the Lucas Oil competitors, and the folks at Jegs have done a really great job over the past few years to enhance the entire experience for the racers and the fans. I know that Jegs and Summit Racing are big competitors (and I realize that this is a Summit Racing web site) but I do like to point out how much the Jegs' involvement with this race means to the racers. Just like Summit Racing means everything to the racers who compete at the local tracks in order to get a shot at a national championship at the end of the year in Pomona, the All Star program this week is the highlight for a lot of the racers who will be in Joliet. After all, when else do you get a chance to see Matt Harris line up against Mike DePalma? Or see Shawn Cowie square off against John Finke. Or see six other TAFC racers try to beat Frank Manzo? You get the idea. It's a great time to be a Lucas Oil competitor, and it's especially nice if you get to hoist the trophy at the end of the day on Saturday.

Mike Thomas and crew celebrate '98 win.

As great as the All Star program is, the "big show" is what gets a lot of the attention in Joliet and rightfully so. The facility is awesome, one of the best, the track is quick and fast and the results are often unpredictable. Of course, now that I've said that, it should be pointed out that most of the time, most, but not all, the winners are the drivers who were favored going into the weekend. One big exception would be the 1998 winner in Pro Stock. Did you know that Mike Thomas won the race that year and it was the one and only win of his career? Mike qualified third that year and beat a young Greg Anderson, Mark Osborne, Bruce Allen and Warren Johnson to earn the trophy. Did you know that was the only time in seven meetings between them that Mike beat Warren? He also faced WJ in his only other final round earlier that year in Houston. Other than that

Force vs. Wilkerson in '99 final.

weekend, the winners in Joliet have been the favorites for the most part....Another exception to that may have been in 1999 when Tim Wilkerson won the first race in his professional career when he beat John Force in the final round. Did you know that was the tenth meeting between the two and only the second time that Tim had ever beaten John? Fast-forward to today and John is 25-9 against Tim although they have split their four final round meetings. Go figure.In Top Fuel, it's hard to call any win by a Don Prudhomme-owned car an upset, but that's what a lot of us called it when Spencer Massey won last year. Like Mike and Tim before him the Chicago win was the first of Spencer's career....Even the runner-ups were, for the most part, favorites going into the race. One exception might be Scotty Cannon who lost the Funny Car final to Del Worsham in 2002. Scotty, who never won an NHRA race, beat Dale Creasy and Frank and Tony Pedregon

Larry Kopp and crew celebrate '98 win.

before losing to Del in the final round. There may be more, but as far as I see it, those were the only races where you even came close to having an upset winner in Joliet..This will be the 13^th running of this event and which class do you think has won more races from the number one spot? Watch out, this could be a trick question. The answer is Pro Stock Motorcycle. Five times the bike winner has come from the top spot while in each of the other Full Throttle classes the top qualifier has won three times. And remember when they ran the Pro Stock Trucks in Joliet? Well, they did that four times at this event and in every year the winner was the number one qualifier. The late Larry Kopp did it in 1998, Bob Panella did it in 1999 and 2000 and Scott Perin won from the top spot in 2001..Did you know that the last time a Pro Stock driver won from the top spot was in 2004 when Jason Line did it?

Kenny Bernstein celebrates '98 win with the Blues Brothers.

The first year of this race was in 1998 and Kenny Bernstein won the Top Fuel title that year. Did you know that was the 50^th national event win for the "King?" Kenny has been watching closely this year as his son, Brandon, has been rapidly improving over the past few weeks. Brandon went to the final round in Atlanta where he fouled out and then he fouled in the semi-finals at the next race in Topeka. As I always say, I've never driven one of those Top Fuel cars but I have participated in sports and I hope Brandon doesn't start over-thinking this starting line stuff. You know what I mean, agonizing about what to do on the starting line. Once you do that you really get messed up. As a Philadelphia Phillies' fan I see their hitters doing the same thing. I mean, how can an entire team go in a slump all at one time? They've been shut out in five of their last nine games and I'm sure they're all over-thinking. Swing the bat Phillies. Hit the gas pedal Brandon (and I know it's not gas so please don't write to me). Do what you have always done and you'll be all right and so will the entire Copart/Lucas Oil team. With only six red lights in his career Brandon needs to put these last two out of his mind, do his job and get the win. And I'm sure he's thankful for getting advice from a skinny, geeky, bald-headed guy with glasses who has never driven a race car. Hey, that's what I'm here for.Did you know that Kenny Bernstein

Kalitta ran 4.428 in 2003.

had fifteen fouls in his career and they came in 450 races? That's one foul in every thirty races. Brandon has six fouls in his 156 races, or one in every twenty-six events. By the way, during his great Funny Car career Kenny only fouled out five times..I mentioned that the Rt. 66 track is very fast, and if the weather cooperates you could see some record times this weekend. Did you know that the two quickest times in drag racing history (at 1,320 feet) were turned in at Rt. 66? Doug Kalitta ran 4.428 there in 2003 and came back and went 4.420 the next year. Tony Schumacher, who also went 4.428 in Pomona in 2006 (remember "The Run?"), has the fifth quickest time in history with his 4.437 that he recorded in Joliet in 2005. With three of the top ten runs in the elapsed time department record in Joliet it's a surprise that not one of the ten fastest speeds were set there. Wonder why? Anyway, let's pray for dry weather first and cool weather after that, because that combination can make this a very special weekend.

The Pro Stock drivers, at least seven of them, are getting ready for the K&N Horsepower Challenge that's coming up at Norwalk in a few weeks. This year, you, the fans, will select the eighth and final participant and I think that could be a lot of fun. If I were a Pro Stock car owner or driver I'd be mounting a big campaign right now to try to get out the vote. Of course, since we're going into the Chicago area this week, getting out the vote could take on a whole new meaning, After all, isn't that where the phrase "vote early and vote often" originated? I could be wrong. Anyway, I have already received a solicitation notice on behalf of one driver to vote for him and I think that's neat. The folks at K&N have come up with a really nice program that benefits the racers, the class, the sponsors and the fans. And while their sweepstakes to select the fans who will be at Norwalk with a chance to win a Harley-Davidson is complete, the on-line voting isn't. So pick your favorite driver and vote at www.KNFilters.com. From what I hear you have to vote for one of the drivers listed, so I guess that leaves out a

Kurt Johnsonin '01

write-in vote for Bob Glidden. Oh well, a guy can dream..Mike Edwards flexed his muscles in Topeka and he should be tough to beat again this week at the fast track in Joliet. Of course all of the Pro Stock teams have to love coming to this track, if for no other reason than the fact that it is one of the best places for a Pro Stock car to run. Did you know that as fast as the Joliet track is the Pro Stock national record has only been set there twice? Kurt Johnson set it in 2001 and Greg Anderson did it in 2004....One driver who has to be looking forward to the weekend is Ron Krisher. Ron, currently sixth in the points, had his best weekend ever at Rt. 66 back in 2000. That's the year he swept to victory by beating Troy Coughlin in the finals. Ron qualified number one, set low elapsed time, top speed and re-set the track record three times on his way to the win. He has a lot of power this year and should do well at Rt. 66, and by

Roy Johnson test Challenger Drag Pak at Bristol.

that I mean that he could win the race. Stay tuned....Roy Johnson, Allen's dad, had a chance to test his new Dodge in Bristol a few days ago and he loved it. Roy, who will enter the race in Bristol in Stock Eliminator in a few weeks, made a couple of test runs and said that he really enjoyed himself. The way Allen is running lately we could see a father-son tandem in the winner's circle in Bristol. Of course, if you listen to Roy, he'll be happy just to be driving again. Did you know that Roy won a couple of national events back in 1983 and that he participated in the All Star race in 1985?

Hector Arana

Right now it looks like there may be just eighteen bikes in Chicago this week. Doug Horne was entered but he had an accident recently while riding his Harley-Davidson at a special event and he'll be sidelined for a while. Did you know that the bikes are the only class this year where the points leader hasn't won a race? Larry Dixon leads Top Fuel and he has four wins, John Force leads the Funny Cars and he has three wins and Mike Edwards leads Pro Stock and he has five wins. Hector Arana, the leader in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, is more than one hundred points ahead of Matt Smith and yet Hector hasn't won a race. A few weeks ago Hector went into Atlanta, a track where he had never done anything to speak of, and he made it to the final round. Well, he'll try to duplicate that this weekend in Joliet. Did you know that Hector has raced at ten events at Rt. 66 and has won exactly one round? One!! And in those ten races he has failed to qualify seven times. Seven!! I know he'll make the field this weekend and then he'll try to win some rounds, like four of them, in order to put his first win of the year on the board. It's amazing at what Hector has done the last two years after struggling for so many years prior to that. What a great story that is.

Reichert at Maple Grove last weekend. Photo by Jim Samuel

Bill Reichert will be in Joliet and he'll be looking for that elusive double-up, that is, a win in the All Star program and a win at the national event. Bill won the All Star program last year so he'll go in as the blocker, but he'll still have a shot at winning twice over the weekend. Did you know that Bill has won the All Star race twice and the Joliet race twice but never in the same year? Bill will be coming in off his win at the Maple Grove divisional race so he has some momentum.Chris Demke, the man Bill beat in the final round last year, also has some momentum since he'll be coming in off his win at the D-5 race in Brainerd. The alcohol classes are always exciting at the All Star show and this year should be no exception.