Wed, 25 Aug 2010, 12:16 AM Take A Breath

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 NHRA

U.S. Nats were in Kansas City in'56.

After all the hustle and bustle of the first part of the season it's almost a relief to have a few weeks off before beginning the "Countdown." Almost! A lot of racers were either in action this past week at a Lucas Oil divisional event or they will be this week, and with the rain-out at Cecil County, some of the Division 1 racers will have to choose between going back to Maryland or heading to Bowling Green for the D-3 race there. For drivers headed to Indy from the West there will be a division race at Heartland Park Topeka this week (August 27-28) and that should help some of them get warmed up for the "Big Go." Speaking of Kansas and the "Big Go," I often get asked about where and when did that term, "The Big Go," come about? Well, the best I can tell is this. When the Nationals were held in Great Bend, Kansas, and then in Kansas City, there was a huge car show, the "National Custom Auto Fair," that was held in conjunction with the event. While that was the official name of the event, the fans of the show always referred to it simply as the "Big Show." When the drag races came along and were held in conjunction with the event the logical thing was to call it the "Big Go." At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Did you know that there was also a "Big Show West" that was held every year in February as part of what was called "Winternationals Week" in Southern California?

Dixon and crew celebrate win. Photo by Auto Imagery, Inc.

With the first part of the season now history and the playoffs about to begin, I thought it might be nice to reflect on some of the things that have shaped the first part of the year. In Top Fuel the story has to be Larry Dixon and the Al-Anabi team. With nine wins in as many finals this year Larry is having a great season even by his very high standards. This time last year Larry had five wins but he also had a DNQ and three first-round losses. So far this year he has qualified for every event and only dropped a pair of opening-round encounters, one to Steve Chrisman and the other to Morgan Lucas. Larry and his team, led by Alan Johnson and Jason McCulloch, have done well from the start of qualifying right through eliminations. Did you know that they have five top qualifying spots already this year and at each of those events he has gone on to win the race? The fact that Larry has a good car and he is driving well should be bad news for the rest of the teams as we begin the "Countdown." Add to it the fact that he has been good, I mean really good against the other drivers in the top ten and it's easy to see why he is the favorite as the playoffs begin, and if he's not, he should be. Did you know that Larry is an amazing 33-6 against the other drivers in the top ten this year? And did you know that he has a perfect record against five of those drivers as we begin the second part of the year? In races against Cory McClenathan, Doug Kalitta, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence and David Grubnic so far this year the big maroon car is a stunning 18-0.Over the course of the years one of the things that racers are always interested in is how they are rated in NATIONAL Dragster's "Tricky Tipster" section. Did you know that the folks at Dragster have been making picks since back in the 1960's? In fact, as I look at one old issue of the paper (it was a paper back in 1970), I see that Larry Dixon is 25-1 to win the Nationals. Of course they were talking about Larry Dixon Sr. at that time. It's September of 1970 and the picks at that time were called "Hauler's Handicap" and the author was listed as "Guest Tipster." In that issue they had Don Prudhomme as the favorite in Top Fuel at 3-1 odds. Ray Motes was the

Don Prudhomme vs. Jim Nicoll in '70 final.

choice in Top Gas at 5-1 while Gene Snow was 3-1 in Funny Car and Ronnie Sox was a 3-1 choice in Pro Stock. So how did the "Hauler" do forty years ago? Well, "Snake" won in the dragster class, Jack Jones, a 20-1 shot won in the gas class while some kid by the name of Don Schumacher won in Funny Car (he was also 20-1) and Herb McCandless took the Pro Stock crown after starting as a 30-1 long shot. Let me tell you, picking the winners is not easy, especially at Indy, and it will be interesting to see who the folks in California pick as the favorites this year....In Top Fuel the two top picks will have to be Larry and Tony Schumacher, after all, they have won every Top Fuel title at Indy this century. Did you know

Cory McClenathan vs Jim Head in '97 final.

that the last person to win Indy other than those two was Cory McClenathan in 1999? There's an old expression about nobody remembering who finished second and that may be true. Do you remember who Cory beat in the 1999 final round? How about Andrew Cowin?...The favorites almost always win Indy and there really haven't been that many races that you could call "upsets," especially in Top Fuel. I guess Jim Head's win in 1997 could be classified as an upset and then you would have to go all the way back to Johnny Abbott's win in 1981 to find another surprise winner. Did you know that Jim Head wasn't even among those listed in the "Tricky Tipster" for the '97 race and Johnny Abbott was also not among the picks in 1981? Like I said, picking the winners isn't easy, especially at Indy.

Gary Denham vs. Cruz Pedregon in '04 final. Photo by Auto Imagery, Inc.

The Funny Car class is wide open as we head to Indy and the "Countdown." I really don't think I could pick a favorite for the championship and I certainly couldn't select a winner at Indy. Well I could, it's just that it would be the kiss of death for that particular driver. I have better luck picking lottery numbers than I do winners at a race. Speaking of which, try this. A friend of mine and I are trying to select each of the pro winners at every national race. Now we haven't been at it long but neither of us has even come close so far. Face it, how many people picked Bob Bode at Brainerd? Not us. Or how many picked Rodger Brogdon to beat Mike Edwards at Brainerd? Not us. You get the idea, don't you? Of course the easy thing to do would be to pick all of the favorites but that wouldn't work out too well this year. Did you know that seven of the winners in the Funny Car class this year have come from the bottom of the field? And did you know that five times this year the top qualifier in Funny Car didn't even make it out of the first round. So go ahead, pick the favorites and let me know how that works out for you....Although still not full of upsets, the Funny Car class has certainly had more surprises at Indy than the dragsters have. Still, it's tough to go against the top rated cars going into Indy. Did you know that in five of the last ten years it has been a driver from Team Force who won Indy? Ashley Force did it last year, Robert Hight in 2006 and 2008, Gary Denham in 2004 and John himself in 2002..Like I said, I think that anyone in the field can win Indy and I think the same way about the championship this year and I've said that all season long. Did you know that there

Jim Epler won in 2000.

have been more winners in the Funny Car class than in any other Full Throttle category this year? Among drivers in the "Countdown" seven drivers have won in FC, while only four have done so in Top Fuel and there have been five in each of the Pro Stock classes. The non-winners in Funny Car include Ashley, Del Worsham and Tony Pedregon and it would be hard to pick against anyone of them in Indy or in the playoffs. Like I said it's wide open..Now that I mentioned that, I ask you, which is the biggest surprise, that Ashley, Del or Tony hasn't won yet this year? I will be stunned if those three go through the season without a win. Of them, Ashley has won Indy twice, in Funny Car and in the Top Alcohol Dragster class (2004), Del won it in 2005 when he also won the "Shootout" and a whole pile of cash and Tony was runner-up in 2001..In the "upset" category I guess you would have to put Jim Epler's win in 2000 and Frank Pedregon's 1999 victory in that group wouldn't you? Other than that you would probably have to go all the way back to John Lombardo's win in 1985 or Jim Head's in '84 to find something that you would call a huge upset. Or possibly that Mike Dunn win in 1986....Even if someone outside of the top ten wins this year it may not really be a surprise or an upset, although it would be neat to see Jim Head win again, wouldn't it?

Allen Johnson and crew celebrate Denver win. Photo by Auto Imagery, Inc.

OK, so if I'm rating their chances I have to put Mike Edwards as even money going into Indy even if he did come back to the pack a bit in the last few races. It's been five races since Mike has won a race, and for him, that's a huge drought. But, and it's a big but, if you look at the numbers over those past five races you will see that even though he hasn't won nobody has outrun him. Check it out. In Norwalk he lost in round one on a slight holeshot. In Seattle it was a semi-final loss on a holeshot. In Sonoma he broke in the semi-finals, he fouled out in Denver and he lost to the "Pistonator" on a big holeshot in round one in Brainerd. Ok, so that means he still hasn't won but he does still appear to have a very good car and that could be trouble for the other Pro Stock drivers in the "Countdown." Of course driving is a big part of the game and Pro Stock is so close that if you're not on in all phases of your game.you lose!! It's that simple....Even though he didn't win Mike has been on the first page of the race re-cap sheet several times over those past five races and that means that he was either number one, set low elapsed time or top speed. And while he was on there a lot, he wasn't on all of those re-cap sheets. Allen Johnson, who won Denver and was also on a lot of those front pages, has a very good car and he would love to put his Mopar in the winner's circle at Indy. I know that sounds silly because everyone wants to win, but Allen is really motivated because of the way the folks at Mopar are treating him and his team.

Bob Glidden won '79 Indy in a Plymouth Arrow.

It's been a long while since a "factory" or a manufacturer has supported someone the way Mopar is supporting Allen, and with the history of Mopars at Indy it would be special if he could win it. At least special for Allen and Mopar. Did you know the last time a Mopar won Indy was when Darrell Alderman did it in 1991? Before that it was Bob Glidden in his Plymouth Arrow in 1979, Ronnie Sox in 1971 and Herb McCandless in his Duster in 1970. For the Mopar folks, that's it at Indy, and that's why a win in 2010 would be huge for them, and the way Allen has been running he should be a real factor next week....Anyone that is going to win Indy will have to contend with Jeg Coughlin. The yellow and black seems to be peaking at the right time of the year, and for a guy who won Indy after qualifying sixteenth in 2000, it's obvious that if he's in he can win. The Victor Cagnazzi-owned team has the ingredients to win it all, a good owner, a strong sponsor, a great crew and one of the best drivers in the class. So if Mike goes in as even money, Jeg can't be far behind. Did you know that every member of the Coughlin family has been in a final round at Indy? Jeg Sr. was runner-up to "Ohio" George Montgomery in 1959 and runner-up to Dale Armstrong in Pro Comp in 1975. Jeg's brother, John,

Bob Glidden vs. Larry Morgan in '89 final.

went to the Pro Stock Truck final round in 2000, Mike won the truck class twice and Troy won Super Gas in 1991. That's a lot of Indy hardware on the shelves in Delaware, Ohio, isn't it?...Since I mentioned Dale Armstrong, congratulations to him as he gets inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America this week in Michigan....The two Summit Racing drivers also have to get a lot of consideration, both for the Indy race and the championship because they, too, have everything you need to win. Greg Anderson and Jason Line are fourth and fifth in the points going into the "Countdown" and they have the cars and the teams to run with anyone. Did you know that Greg has five Indy wins to his credit and that he is one of only three Pro Stock drivers to ever win the "Big Go" in four consecutive seasons? Bob Glidden did it (1985 - 1988) and Warren Johnson did it (1992 - 1995). Hey, anytime you can be mentioned in the same sentence as Bob and Warren that has to be a good thing, right?...The other members of the top ten are all capable of winning and I'm not sure anything that happens in Pro Stock would be an upset....Pro Stock, more than any other class, almost always goes according to form, and I guess the closest thing to an upset would be Larry Morgan's win in 1989. Having said that, did you know that Larry was a 4-1 pick by "Tricky Tipster" in 1989? Maybe that wasn't such a big upset after all.

Jim Bernard vs. Paul Gast in '91 final.

The motorcycles really are an enigma since I can't seem to see any favorite in this class right now. Andrew Hines, like Jeggie, seems to be getting hot at just the right time. Hector Arana has done everything but win this year, Michael Phillips has the best bike he's ever had and Matt Smith is always a threat. Steve Johnson, who has won Indy twice, can't be counted out especially since he, too, may have his best ride ever, while Eddie Krawiec and his Harley can win at any time and at any place. The other members of the top ten, LE Tonglet (if he shows up and if he has a good engine), David Hope, Karen Stoffer and Craig Treble have all flashed signs of brilliance this year and all have the bikes to win, but the question is, will they?...In 1991 Jim Bernard won Indy when he beat Paul Gast in the final round. Since the bikes became part of the regular tour in 1987 I think that would have to be one of the big upsets at Indy, well that and Steve Johnson's win in 2005. That will always be remembered as the "instant replay" race, although it was more of a replay than it was instant. Still, in the end, justice prevailed and the correct winner got the trophy. As the old expression goes, better late than never....When you look at the riders in the bottom part of the group, the number seven through ten qualifiers, it appears to me that they are all capable of

Steve Johnson celebrates Indy winner circle in Reading in '05. Photo by Auto Imagery, Inc.

winning a race, any race, including Indy. LE has already won once this year, Karen Stoffer has the national record-holding bike and Craig Treble won Indy three years ago. Only David Hope, who is in eighth place going in, hasn't won a race, but he will. The Mohegan Sun entry is strong and just needs to get that one break to go all the way, and maybe Indy is where it will happen for the Missouri native.Angelle Sampey, who won Indy in back-to-back years (2001 & 2002) will be in attendance next week as part of a big celebration for the U.S. Army. It's always nice to see Angelle and it would be great to see her ride again, but that's not going to happen. She was a great part of the bike class for years and her two Indy wins have to rank right up there with her major accomplishments.