Fri, 9 May 2003, 10:33 AM Atlanta…A Turning Point?

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2003

I know that there are a lot of races to go in the 2003 season, but the national event in Atlanta really could have been a turning point in the battle for several of the Lucas Oil world championships. And because several of the divisions have barley started their activity (Division 1 won’t start until the end of May), some of the early point’s leaders may be a little skewed toward the west coast where they have already run a whole pile of events. Still, at the end of the season we may look back at Atlanta and say that some titles were won or lost down south.

Frank Manzo

Frank Manzo won the Top Alcohol Funny Car class in Atlanta for an amazing ninth time in his great career and he beat his long-time friend and rival Bob Newberry in the process. Frank, who won his first TA/FC race there in 1981 (the first year of the class) after claiming a Pro Comp win earlier in his career, now has a win and a runner-up to his credit this season and yet he is not shown in the top ten in the points, but that will all change as soon as he runs at a few more events. Bob Newberry, with two wins and a runner-up already, could do himself a big favor with a win next week in New Jersey, but that won’t be easy since Frank, Paul Gill and others will be in attendance. Tate Branch, who added a division win to his credits in Topeka last weekend, is near the top spot but he’ll have to step up and go rounds at some national events if he wants to take the championship. Still, his two early division wins will look large at the end of the season, while Bucky Austin, the Las Vegas winner, will get a chance to add to his total when the D-6 racers return to Mission Raceway this Saturday in an effort to finish that race. As tough as the class is this year, Frank’s win over Bob at Atlanta, while only one race, could be very instrumental in his drive toward a ninth championship season. Englishtown should be very interesting. Of course that Gordon kid in California will still be heard from this year, too.

David Rampy, who is out of races to claim on the national level, did himself a huge favor by beating Charlie Wescott in the Comp finals in Atlanta. Charlie, who is a very good driver and has a great car, had already won in Florida and a second national event win would have moved him right into title contention. Instead, David got the win and the money and stopped one of his chief rivals in the process. But with the schedule stacked in favor of the west coast cars at the start of the season, Dean Carter, Joe Mozeris and Rick Braun continue to be near the top in the points and all of them should be a factor all season long. Of course we’ll have to wait a few months to see how those guys do on the national level, although they will get a chance to add to their divisional totals next week in Bakersfield. Dean, Joe and Rick will all be there until the end, but Rampy’s win over Wescott at Atlanta may prove to be one of the most pivotal early season races in a long time. Only time will tell.

Todd Ewing

Other than Todd Ewing, I don’t think that there’s a driver from east of the Mississippi River who is in the top ten in the Super Comp points, so Todd’s win in Atlanta was really big. But as history will show, racers who haven’t even begun their season yet still have a chance to put a lot of points on the board and win the title. The Super Gas class is a little different with Corky Markwart taking an early lead and he may be hard to catch. Coming into the Summit race in Atlanta, Corky already had a D-2 win under his belt and his victory this past week now gives him a national and divisional win which is huge in the 9.90 class. And I’ll tell you this, Corky has never driven better than he is this year. In addition to the S/G wins, he also has a Super Comp title from Gainesville and a D-2 Top Sportsman win to his credit. I guess all those years of driving everything from Pro Mods to Pro Stocks in paying off, huh? If you don’t believe me, just ask Bruce Duncan who watched as Corky threw a perfect reaction time against him in the finals. Corky also had a perfect 9.900 earlier in the weekend and a pair of 9.90 time slips in the last four rounds of eliminations, and that’s the kind of stuff that champions are made of. Just imagine a guy driving a truck winning the Super Gas world title…it could happen.

Peter Biondo skipped the Atlanta race and a couple of his close personal friends took advantage of that to go rounds (not that they couldn’t have done that if Peter were there…but he wasn’t). A. Lincoln Morehead and Dan Fletcher met in the final in Super Stock with “A” taking the win over Dan for the second consecutive year. Point of fact, it was the third year in a row that Dan had made it to the money round in Atlanta and all three ended up the same way.  Morehead, often overlooked as a driver in the east because of the presence of Peter, Dan, Anthony Bertozzi and others, continues to impress with his driving at both ends of the track and he could be a factor in the title chase this year. The dark horse in the field should be Jeff Lane, the west coast hitter who already has a couple of national event wins this year and is every bit as good as any of the east coast guys. He’s already beaten “Fletch” is a final round so that will show you how good he is, and anyone who has watched him over the yeas knows that he can race and win in any of the sportsman classes, so don’t count him out.

Steve Federlin

The alcohol dragster class looked like it was going to be a Morgan Lucas vs. Tony Bartone battle after the first couple of races, but those two guys have kind of come back to the pack lately and now it’s anybody’s race to win. Marty Thacker’s win in Atlanta proved that he could go the distance and, along with Duane Shields, he has one of the best blown cars in the country and they should make life miserable for any and all drivers who get in their way this year. At this point I couldn’t pick a favorite in this class, although you have to like what Alan Bradshaw and Randy Meyer have done from a performance standpoint so far, but they’ve got to show that they can go rounds at the national races. Like I said, this one is way too early to call.

While there were a lot of great performances in Atlanta, I think one of the truly great efforts was turned in about 3,000 miles away at Mission Raceway in British Columbia, and I’m not talking about John Gallina’s stunning seven-second pass in a Super Stock car, I’m talking about Steve Federlin’s return to racing action. Steve, who was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease at the end of last year, has battled back, regained his health and is racing again and that should bring a smile to everyone’s face. I spoke with Steve in Las Vegas earlier this year and he has to be one of the more inspirational people out there. Even with his own health problems, he was there lending a hand to a fellow racer’s family and giving comfort to them in a time of need. It’s guys like Steve who make this a great sport and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his wife, Patty. When you think about it, after what he has been through, winning the championship may not be the most important thing in the world, because I guarantee you that Steve is happy just to be able to compete again. Congratulations, Steve, you are a true champion.