Tue, 26 Oct 2010, 10:28 PM Two To Go

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Well, here we go, the final two races of the season are ahead of us and the 2010 Full Throttle champions will be decided before you know it. In fact, the way the points are, we could get a real indication this week of who the champion will be. I know one thing for sure, after this week we will certainly know who the champions won't be. In fact, we already know who they won't be in two of the classes. Did you know that in the Top Fuel class three drivers have already been mathematically eliminated from title contention? In Pro Stock Motorcycle five riders will be jockeying for position at the next two races since they have already been eliminated. Meanwhile, in Funny Car and Pro Stock all ten drivers who qualified for the "Countdown" could

"Bean Bandits"

still win the whole thing. I know, they won't, but until you have been eliminated you can still think those championship thoughts. The real fun will be watching the teams at the top and see how they respond to the pressure of a championship run. The veterans, like Larry Dixon, Cory McClenathan and John Force, among others, shouldn't be bothered by the pressure, while others, like Matt Hagan and LE Tonglet will be in the midst of their first championship run and they may, just may, feel the pressure a little more. Then again, maybe not. We'll see.

I did want to mention the passing of a very special person this week. Joaquin Arnett, the head of the legendary "Bean Bandits" team, died recently. Now to a lot of the younger fans of the sport Joaquin and the "Bandits" may not exactly be a household name, but to those who have followed the sport since its infancy, literally, Joaquin is a huge figure and played a large part in the development of the sport. Joaquin was a car builder, a fabricator and an innovator and his cars ran everywhere from the drag strips of Southern California to Bonneville and the dry lakes. He is a member of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame and the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame and there aren't a lot of people who can say that. The "Bean Bandits," one of the original Southern California car clubs, has been reinvigorated of late thanks to the work of Julio Fernandez and Fabian Valdez and they can be found at the annual California Hot Rod Reunion as well as other shows and events in that area. It's great that they chose to carry on the legacy of one of the real pioneers in the sport, Joaquin Arnett. The team, under Joaquin's leadership, ran a dragster back in 1953 and they won the very first, official NHRA event ever run at Pomona.

Mike Boyd

They did it with a car that had a 274-cubic inch Mercury engine and they ran almost 135 miles per hour, which in those days, was flying. If you get to the CHRR next year, stop by their display, say hi and tell them how much you appreciate what they and Joaquin did for drag racing. By the way, I hear that they are having a tribute / memorial service for Joaquin on November 6^th in National City, California. If you're in the area why not stop by....Since I mentioned the "Reunion" I must tell you to go to YouTube (here's the link, or whatever they call these things) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUwws3dzqfg I know, you never thought you would hear me say go to YouTube, but there is a fantastic video of Mike Boyd doing a burnout in the "Winged Express" AA/FA. I can't tell you any more but I will tell you that you won't be disappointed...it is spectacular.

Last years autograph session. Photo by John Bisci, LVMS

As always there is a lot going on in Las Vegas and some of it won't even take place at the strip. The huge, and it is huge, Fan Fest will take place on Fremont Street on Thursday night. I have the list of drivers who will be there and it is a great selection of competitors from all four Full Throttle classes. Among those scheduled to be there (we say "scheduled" because like any show, or like almost everything in Las Vegas, anything is subject to change) are Larry Dixon, Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Terry McMillen and more from the Top Fuel ranks, Bob Bode, Robert Hight, Bob Tasca and Jeff Arend for the Funny Cars along with about a dozen Pro Stock Car and Motorcycle drivers. My list shows almost two dozen drivers who have already signed up, and if history is any indication, more will pop in on Thursday evening. It is always a great night and we hope you'll stop by....On the other side of town the Team Schumacher drivers will be part of a big "meet and greet" at the New York, New York Hotel & Casino on that same night, Thursday the 28^th. An autograph

The Zizzos, last year.

session and some special give-away items will make that a great night, as if just having Don's drivers there wasn't enough already....After both of those activities end Melanie Troxel will be at the top of the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino and she will then jump off. Really! Melanie has challenged all the nitro team drivers to stop by and take the plunge. It's a 108-story free fall that they call the Sky Jump Las Vegas at the Stratosphere. Melanie, an acknowledged adrenaline junkie, says that she will donate $100 to Speedway Children's Charities for each nitro driver that jumps (and lands safely, I presume. I just thought I'd add that part). I'm thinking about stopping by and donating, but I'm not thinking about jumping. At least not yet, but we'll see what happens on Thursday. Fans are invited to stop by and cheer for your favorite drivers, or encourage them and support them as they make the jump....And, since this race often falls on or around the Halloween weekend, several of the teams will offer Trick or Treat stops in the pits. TJ Zizzo, who will be making an appearance with his Peak/Herculiner Top Fuel car at the race this weekend, invites everyone to stop by his pit area on Sunday morning for a costume contest. It'll all take place around 10 AM and, like all good costume contests, there will be prizes. Folks will get to hang out with TJ and the team

Mark Mariani

for a while and get some really special treatment. Sounds like fun, so dress up and visit TJ on Sunday morning before eliminations. That Zizzo team always seems to have a lot of fun at the races, don't they?....The Top Fuel field in Vegas will have an international flavor with drivers from five countries and three continents in attendance. Among them will be Mark Mariani from Australia who will be making his first appearance in the United States in the Top Fuel class. Mark has picked a tough event at which to make his debut since there are over two dozen cars entered for the race. We all know how tough it is to qualify for a field in your first try but Mark will attempt to do just that. Mark, who finished fourth in the Australian championship chase this year, won one event and will be looking to join Stig Neergard, Lex Joon and Tim Boychuk in the starting line-up.

Dixon vs. McClenathan

Hey, I wonder if any of them want to jump off the Stratosphere...While those drivers try to make the field Larry Dixon and Cory McClenathan will be looking to earn as many points as they can in an effort to either widen or close the gap at the top of the standings. Cory is eighty-nine points, or slightly more than four rounds behind Larry, and while it would be good to make up those nine points in qualifying, it won't be easy. Did you know that Larry has only qualified lower than third at four races this year? He also has eight number one qualifying spots, including three of four in the "Countdown" so it will be tough to gain ground on him before Sunday. Not impossible, just hard....For his part Cory has been in the top four qualifying spots at all four races in the "Countdown" but that still hasn't helped him close the gap on Larry. No, it looks like it'll be Sunday before either driver can make any real gains on the other. In the perfect world, at least for Cory, the two could meet in round one and settle things right there. Did you know that those two have met sixty-six times in their careers but only sixteen of those races have come in round one? And only four of those first round encounters have taken place in the last four years and none of them have happened this year, so the chances of them squaring off in round one appear to be about as good as my chances of jumping off the Stratosphere. In other words....

Hagan vs. Force

Matt Hagan leads the Funny Cars into Vegas but he has to be looking over his shoulder, or at least seeing the shadow of John Force lurking nearby. With a miniscule sixty-four point lead Matt knows that he can't slip up a bit or John could go roaring by. Of course that all depends on how well John and his team rebound from the Maple Grove tsunami that hit them hard. Even though he is not in title contention Robert Hight could be a big factor in how John or Ashley Force do at the remaining two races. Robert, who was spotted at the ADRL race in Dallas this weekend taking pictures and writing stories, hasn't won a round yet in the "Countdown" and that's in direct contrast to how he did last year. Did you know that this four-race drought is the biggest of Robert's career? Prior to these last four events he had never gone four races without winning a round. Never!! Now he hopes to be able to take out some of the competition in an effort to help one of his other Team Force Fords win the championship. Hey, it's a goal....Realistically the battle is between Matt, John and Jack Beckman. Jack, who is 138 points back, needs a lot of help if he wants to track down the leaders, and by that I mean he needs to win in Vegas and hope that Matt and John go out early. Actually, being part of Team Schumacher, Jack would just like to see John go out early..In case you didn't know, with the points the teams can earn in qualifying now, a driver has to be within 150 points of the leader going into Pomona to still have a chance at the championship. Of course you need to be a lot closer to have a real chance, so every round that Matt wins this weekend will just make it tougher on John and Jack. For the record, in 2010 Matt is 17-4 in round one matches while John is 15-6 and Jack is 18-3. With the points the way they are just getting out of round one could be a big thing in Las Vegas. Matt hasn't lost an opening round race since Norwalk, John has lost in round one at two of the last three races and Jack hasn't dropped a round-one encounter since Topeka. Remember where you heard it first, a round one loss in Las Vegas for any of the three will be devastating.

Anderson vs. Edwards

Greg Anderson is returning to Las Vegas, the home of his car owner, Ken Black. Ken has received a couple of good phone calls from Greg lately and a win in his home town would be the best medicine that Ken could get. We haven't seen him at the races for a while and I know he would love to be trackside this week, but even if he isn't, I'm sure he'll be in constant contact with the team. Just like John can hope for and expects to get some help from his teammates, Greg can look to Jason Line, the driver of the other Summit Racing Pontiac, for help, too. Jason is in fourth place, 137 points behind Greg. Even though he still could catch the leaders, realistically it's probably not going to happen. But Jason has had a really good car lately and he can take out some of the competition for Greg on Sunday. At least that's their game plan. I know all of the rumbling that goes on about "team orders," but let's face it, if your teammate can't help you, especially when both cars are owned by the same man and sponsored by the same company, who can? By the way, the early odds that I saw from Las Vegas had Greg a 5-2 favorite and Mike Edwards was listed at 3-1. I ask you, when was the last time Mike wasn't the favorite going into a race?...Early round meetings between Greg, Greg and Mike could help or hurt, depending on your point of view. For the record, Mike Edwards has pretty much handled both Gregs so far this year. Did you know that Mike has a combined 9-3 record against

Stanfield vs. Anderson

those two this year? But recently the tide has turned, with all three of those losses coming since the Seattle race and two of them coming in the "Countdown." Mike still has a great car, and so do both of the Gregs, and that's why the Vegas race will probably be the pivotal race in the battle for the Pro Stock championship. One Greg needs to stay ahead of the others, Mike needs to gain at least a round on Mr. Anderson and Greg Stanfield probably needs a final round appearance if not a win. And he has to hope that Greg and/or Mike aren't in the other lane in the final round....If there is such a thing as "home field advantage" it may go to Greg Anderson in Las Vegas. Did you know that Greg has won as many races at this event as Mike Edwards has won rounds? Strange, but true. Greg has three wins at the second Vegas race, winning in 2003, 2004 & 2007 while Mike has won a total of three rounds. Greg Stanfield hasn't done too badly there, either. Did you know that the driver of the Nitro Fish car has five semi-final round appearances at this event including three in the last three years?....Allen Johnson and his Dodge can't be counted out this week. AJ has been very strong and he could be, although he probably dislikes this word right now, a "spoiler" in the class. Currently in fifth place, Allen's Dodge is the kind of car that could run the table in Vegas and make life miserable for the top three contenders. I'll tell you this, if I'm in the class I certainly want to be on the other side of the ladder from the Dodge.

Hines vs. Tonglet

In the bike class the question is, can anyone stop Andrew Hines before he gets to the final round? Nobody has been able to do that in the last seven races and that's why he is leading the points. Even though LE Tonglet has been there for four of those finals he still finds himself looking up at Andrew and his Harley-Davidson. Andrew's final round frenzy began in Sonoma where he lost to Michael Phillips and has continued through the first four races of the "Countdown." He is seventy-two points, well more than three rounds, ahead of LE with eight rounds of racing to go. LE needs one of those perfect storms, you know, where he (or somebody else) gets Andrew in round one and takes him out, but that doesn't happen very often. Did you know that Andrew has only lost twice in the first round this year? Once was at the 4-wide race in Charlotte and the other one was at St. Louis. And do you remember who beat him in St. Louis? You guessed it, LE Tonglet himself. So you see, it can happen. As I often say, in the interest of fair reporting, I should add this little tidbit. Did you know that for his entire career Andrew is 101 - 30 in his opening round matches. Do the math, no, let me, and you'll see that computes to Andrew winning 77% of the time in round one. This year he has been even better posting a very impressive 13-2 mark in round one which comes out to 87%. So I have two words for LE...good luck....Of course past history won't mean anything for Andrew or any of the other contenders if they can't get the job done in Vegas.

Jeff and his father Eli Lopez celebrate the wins. Photo by Robert Grice

There was a Lucas Oil divisional race this past weekend, one that didn't end until Monday, and it was held in Noble, Oklahoma. A lot of the sportsman title pictures are starting to come into focus and I'll have more on that in Thursday's column. I would like to congratulate Jeff Lopez for winning in two classes, Super Comp and Super Gas. Nice job, Jeff. Did you know that's the second "double-up" at the Noble race but the first since Jeg Coughlin did it there in 1997?