Tue, 5 Oct 2010, 11:08 PM Play Ball

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

There will be a lot of excitement in the air when the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series rolls into Pennsylvania this week. And as much as I would like to say that all of the excitement is because of the drag racing that just wouldn't be true. You see, in Eastern Pennsylvania there is a lot of excitement because it's time to play some fall ball, or as we call it around here, time for the Phillies to make another drive toward the World Series. The Phillies, who just happen to have the best record in baseball this year, begin the playoffs on Wednesday, just as most of the Full Throttle teams are getting to town, and as you can imagine baseball will be tops on a lot of people's minds this week. But it won't only be Phillies' fans who are thinking about baseball, drag racing fans will be too. Or more correctly, they will be thinking about softball and that great game that was played twenty years ago in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Gwynn throws out first pitch. Photo by NHRA

There are very few things that happen off the track that I say are part of the history of drag racing, but that night in Reading, twenty years ago is certainly one of them. The occasion was the game between the NASCAR stars and the drag racing stars. The reason, to raise money for and to welcome back Darrell Gwynn. Darrell, one of the legends in the sport and one of the most popular drivers in the sport at the time, had been critically injured in an accident in England earlier that year and this would be his first public appearance since that time. As you can imagine, the costs of recovering from something like Darrell's accident were enormous, and the racing community decided to come together that night in an effort to help Darrel and his family. Everyone expected it be a fun night, but nobody thought it would be a historic night.and it was. After nine long innings, innings that included a Dan Pastorini home run, John Force being bowled over at the plate by Chad Little (where is he now?), a four-run rally by the NASCAR stars in the top of the ninth inning and a miraculous comeback by the NHRA stars in the bottom of the ninth, it was over and the NHRA won it by the score of 21-20. And the star of the game and that ninth inning rally was none other than "Captain Chaos" himself, Ken Koretsky. Did you know that Kenny got the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth, a hit that scored Pastorini and Richard Hartman? And, as I often say, the crowd went wild. It was one of those nights that I will remember forever and I'm sure so will everyone else who was there. I bring this up because this Thursday night, at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Wyomissing, PA, just miles from the track and just a few miles from where the game was played, there will be a reunion of sorts. "We're going to get together and have another fund raiser," Lex Dudas, Vice President - General Manager of Maple Grove Raceway said. "A lot of the NHRA stars who were part of that great night will be there and we're inviting all the fans to stop by for what should be a fun evening." In addition to reminiscing about the game, there will be an auction of drag racing memorabilia and a tribute to Darrell. In addition, the 2010 inductees into the Maple Grove Walk of Fame will be honored. "That group includes Dallas Gardner, Steve Gibbs, Darwin Doll, Kenny Koretsky, Darrell and Jerry Gwynn and Jack Redd." It promises to be a fun night and a great way to kick off the Toyo Tires Nationals. Admission is $20 and Dave McClelland will be the host and I'll be there to help out. If you're coming to the race why not plan on being at the Crown Plaza on Thursday evening. A lot of the top stars in the NHRA have already committed to being there and it should be a lot of fun for everyone. By the way, did you know that, in true John Force fashion, after he was bowled over at the plate in the most controversial play of the night, he led off the eighth inning with a home run? And just in case you lost your box score from that game, there were 41 runs scored, 45 hits and 10 errors. Hey, nobody said it was a masterpiece, just that it was a lot of fun. Now go Phillies!!...One last thing. Two of my favorite pictures in my office are ones of Darrel Gwynn. One where he is getting welcomed to the world of Top Fuel by none other than "Big Daddy" Don Garlits in 1984, and the other is a shot of him throwing out the first pitch at the softball game, a picture that has come to symbolize his grit and determination..Did you know that both Don and Darrell were in the Top Fuel field at the inaugural race at Maple Grove? Don beat Darrell in the semi-finals and eventually won the race when he beat Joe Amato in the final round.

Cory McClenathan at '92 Reading.

While a lot has been made about the switch to October for the Maple Grove race it looks like the weather should be very good. I'm not predicting national record times, although that is a real possibility and would be great for some of the teams in the "Countdown" and not so good for others. Did you know that in 1992 the national records were set in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock at the Maple Grove event? And as hard as it may be to believe, that's the last time all of the elapsed time records were set at the same event. Only the motorcycle E/T record wasn't set at that event and that wasn't set at any track at any time in the 1992 season. Did you know that two of the record-setters from the '92 event will be competing at the Grove this year but only one of them is in the "Countdown"? Cory McClenathan in the "Mac Attack" car set the Top Fuel record at 4.799 while Cruz Pedregon in the McDonald's car set the Funny

Pedregon's time from '92 Reading.

Car mark at 5.076. The other record, Pro Stock, was set by the late Scott Geoffrion at an unbelievable, for the time, 7.099. The Pro Stock record was set four different times in 1992 and that's the most in any year since then. Speaking of records, do you know who holds the Maple Grove track record in Funny Car? That very same Cruz Pedregon. And did you know that the Funny Car national record has only been set one other time at Maple Grove and that was in 2001 when John Force went 4.731? .For the record, there was one other time a Funny Car barrier was broken in Pennsylvania and that was when Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick went 9.97 at York way back in 1965..This week most of the attention in the FC class will be on the four drivers who are the front-runners in the class and that would be John and Ashley Force, Matt Hagan and Jack Beckman. John and Ashley are first and fourth in the points while the two Team Schumacher drivers are second and third. Since Maple Grove, regardless of weather, is almost always a fast track, those four should love it. Did you know that in the entire history of this race, and

Scott Geoffrion at '92 Reading.

that spans twenty-five years, only three drivers have won more than once in the Funny Car class and only two of them will be driving this week? John has won it an amazing six times while Tony Pedregon has won it three times and Mark Oswald has won it twice. Besides his six wins John has another seven final rounds in Reading and that means he has been to the final round at more than half the races in Reading. Anyone want to bet against him doing it again this weekend?....John was part of the class of '85, also known as the first year of the event at Maple Grove. Four other drivers who will be part of this year's event were also in the field in 1985 and they are Kenny Bernstein (#1 qualifier), Ed McCulloch (#3), Jim Head (#5) and Paul Smith (#12)..Paul will return to Reading with Phil Burkart as his driver this week. Phil, who hasn't been in action since the end of the 2007 season, won the Maple Grove race in 2006 and he is one of seven former Funny Car champions that will be in action. When Phil won the Reading race in '06 he beat Ron Capps in round one and Robert Hight in the final round, and when he last raced at Pomona in 2007 he beat Ron Capps in the first round and lost to Robert in the final round. What are the odds? Did you know that in 2007 he only raced at four events and he went to the final round at two of them? He and Paul could prove troublesome for some of the title contenders this week.

Jason Line

If Allen Johnson, Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin want to stay in title contention they have to win this week, and since we're only running two-wide I don't like the chances of all of them even making it to the final round. So it will be a huge race for those three as well as those in front of them, Mike Edwards, Greg Anderson and Greg Stanfield. Of course, as I often say, in the interest of fair reporting the top three would really have to stumble for the others to get back in the race. It's not mathematically over for anyone but it would take all the planets aligning just the right way for someone other than Mike or the two Greg's to win it this year.Dave Connolly is entered in the race and that means that seven former champions will be in action in Pro Stock. Of those seven, five have multiple wins including Warren Johnson who has the most, four, along with Jeg, Bob Glidden and Kurt Johnson who have three each. Warren, like John, has been to every race at Maple Grove, and that includes the '85 opener when he qualified third and made it to the semi-finals before losing to Bob Glidden. Did you know that Gordie Rivera, Gene Fasching and Sam Gianino were among the sixteen qualifiers at that first race?...Mike Edwards might be leading the points right now but I don't think there's any doubt about the fact that Greg Anderson is the hottest guy in the class. Two consecutive wins and the cover of National DRAGSTER this week is enough to get anyone pumped up,

Anderson vs. Edwards

and rightfully so. Greg will be making his eleventh appearance in Pennsylvania, and in the last seven years he hasn't qualified any lower than second. A good car, a fast track and a little bit of history could make for a very good weekend for the Summit Racing team driver. If that old adage about certain drivers doing well at certain tracks holds true look for another good weekend from Greg. Did you know that in his years at Maple Grove Greg is 18-7 overall and he hasn't lost in round one since 1999? For his part Mike has been to thirteen events there and he is an even 12 - 12 for his career. Greg has two wins and a runner-up and Mike has a pair of runner-up finishes to his credit.The other contender, the other Greg, Stanfield, will be making his eighth appearance and he has one runner-up finish. Now I don't know if any of that means anything but I do expect all three of those drivers to go deep into eliminations, and the one that doesn't will have a long wait until the next race in Las Vegas. As usual, qualifying and the parings that result from it will be very important. I do now this, if you want to win in Pro Stock this week starting from one of the top two spots is highly recommended. Did you know that in the previous twenty-five years the Pro Stock winner qualified either first or second sixteen times at Maple Grove? That's a bunch, isn't it? You don't want to qualify tenth, fifteenth or sixteenth since no one from those positions has ever even made it to the final round in Pro Stock. Good luck.

Dixon vs. McClenathan

Larry Dixon, Cory McClenathan and Tony Schumacher, in that order, lead the points in Top Fuel and it looks pretty good that one of those three will win the championship. Tony made a big move last week by winning in Dallas while Cory went out in the semis and the leader, Dixon, lost in round two. With twelve rounds of racing remaining Larry is a little more than three rounds up on Cory and about five in front of Tony. With that as a background it's easy to see how important this race will be. Larry has four final rounds and one win at the Grove, Cory has one win and Tony has five final round appearances and four wins. Did you know that one of those final rounds came in 1999, the year that Tony won his first championship?....As important as it is to win the race the key to this year's championship might be simply in winning rounds. If past history is any indicator, and it isn't always, Tony would have to get the edge in Pennsylvania. In his thirteen previous trips to Maple Grove, including a very rare DNQ in 1998, Tony has posted a 10 - 2 record in round one. Larry, in his fifteens races there, is 9 - 6 in round one matches while

Schumacher vs. McClenathan

Cory in 10 - 8. Like I said, it might not mean anything, but you know how some guys like certain tracks (or did I say that before?), and Tony seems to love this one. Of course Larry has only been beaten twice in round one this year, once by Steve Chrisman in Phoenix and the other time by Morgan Lucas in Bristol. Cory has also dropped a pair of opening round matches while Tony has just lost once in round one and that was to Brandon Bernstein in Houston. Of the three, which one do you think has the best record in round one races for their career? Cory has won 69% of his first round matches, Tony has won 74% and Larry has won 75% of his round one races. Did you know that Larry is 263 - 87 in the first round for his entire career? With a good field of cars in Maple Grove it's possible that one of these drivers could get upset early and that will be huge as we head down the stretch...Larry, of course, has the edge, since he is the leader and that puts the pressure on the other two. At least I think it does. All three have everything you need to win the championship this year and the cool weather that is scheduled could make for some real fireworks as the teams shoot for the national record and the twenty extra points that go with it. Good luck to everyone.

Tonglet vs. Hines

If anyone other than Andrew Hines or LE Tonglet wins the Pro Stock Motorcycle title this year it will be the biggest surprise in years. It will also probably be the biggest collapse in years since those two are way out in front in the points. I guess that's what three wins in a row (Tonglet) and six finals in a row (Hines) will do for you. Did you know that during this three-race span LE has posted a perfect 5 - 0 record against the two Harley-Davidson riders? Now that's impressive and it's also the stuff that champions are made of. Or at least legends!!. Still, like the other classes, the leader has the advantage and you wonder how long LE can keep up the pace. He has a good bike and his father and brother are doing a great job with the tune-up and the set-up. This is Ken Koretsky's home track and he would love to put one or both of the Nitro Fish machines in the winner's circle this weekend....There are a lot of other good bikes out there and anyone can step up, make a big run and upset the leaders, especially with the way the bikes are on the starting line. Sometimes something as simple as a green light could make all the difference in the world. Andrew has four fouls this year and LE has three and that's something they both have to stay away from for the rest of the year. A foul in the last round like Andrew had in Texas is bad enough, but a foul in round one, like he had in St. Louis (against Tonglet) can be deadly at this time of the year..Like the cars, Pro Stock Motorcycle should love the weather this weekend and they'll have their eyes set on the national record. Of course, since Andrew lowered it to 6.815 in Indy, it will take a perfect run under perfect conditions to set the mark this week. But, as the old expression goes, records are made to be broken. It should be fun..Maple Grove is historically quick for the bikes and a record is a real possibility. Did you know that the motorcycle record was set in four consecutive seasons between 1993 and 1996 in Reading? And did you know that it was there that John Myers made the first Pro Stock Motorcycle run under 7.50 seconds when he went 7.480 in round one at Maple Grove in 1995? John th4en made two more runs in the 7.4 range before going 7.513 in the final round against Steve Johnson. It was, and still remains, one of the most dominating performances by a motorcycle rider in NHRA history. Could we see more of that this weekend? Stay tuned...