Wed, 16 Jan 2002, 04:25 PM Test. Test. This is Only A Test.

By Bob Frey

Well, the long awaited start of the 2002 NHRA POWERADE drag racing season is upon us. OK, so it’s only the first of three test session weekends, but for those of us who have been cold, snow-bound, bored and / or suffering withdrawal symptoms, this weekend’s test session at Firebird Raceway is just what the doctor ordered. Plus, on the other side of the country, there are a lot of Pro Stock teams down in Florida testing as well. Included among that bunch is the entire Jeg’s entourage, two Jim Yates’ cars, J.R. Carr with his five-year-old Firebird, Tom Hammonds, Mike

Greg Anderson

Thomas, Tom Martino and more. And, among that "more" group, is Greg Anderson, who will be driving for Ken Black this season. Now you all remember what Greg did last year, don’t you? Well, with a complete new car, a new shop in Charlotte and a crew that’s second to none, he may be the early favorite in the class this year. I know, that’s saying a lot, but when you have the backing of Black, a Las Vegas builder (in fact, Vegas General Construction, which was on Greg’s car last year, is Ken’s company), and a crew that consists of Pat Barrett, Mike Stryker and Bill Smith, well, you can see why I like this team. Add in the fact that they’ll be running Frank Iaconio motors, and they could be real trouble for anyone in the other lane in 2002.….Among the missing in Bradenton this week are the Johnson’s, who usually like to do their own thing, if you know what I mean. Still, if you’re in Bradenton next week, swing by the track and say hi to Warren and Kurt….Since I mentioned Frank Iaconio, for you youngsters out there who may not know how good Frank was, did you know that Frank Iaconio had a great driving career before he became an engine supplier? He won 11 national events, went to 35 final rounds and finished second in the points on three, different occasions. Not bad, huh? By the way, Frank raced a variety of cars, including a Ford, and, from what I understand, despite earlier rumors to the contrary, he will have a Ford-powered car in Pro Stock again, this year. Shouldn’t take you too long to figure out whom that will be, should it? And, before leaving the Pro Stock world, congratulations to Bo Nickens who got married this past week, in Hawaii. With Bo, his wife, Melissa, and most of the Nickens’ clan in Hawaii, I guess that means the Dodge cars won’t be in Florida today to test, huh? …Now, back to the Arizona testing.

Bob Gilbertson

For a variety of reasons, different teams will opt for testing at either Phoenix this weekend, or Tucson next weekend, while others will make their first appearance at the Las Vegas test session on Super Bowl weekend. One of the drivers who may show up in Vegas, if he makes any of the test sessions, will be Bob Gilbertson. There has been a lot of talk about Bob and what his 2002 plans will be and I’d like to set the record straight. Regardless of what you may have heard, Bob will be running this year, with his Funny Car, with Paul Smith and with the sponsorship of the Stewart & Stevenson team. The popular "camouflaged" car will be at the Winternationals, although you may see a changing of colors on the car over the next few weeks, and it’s "all for the better," Bob assured me today. So, even though he may not make the test sessions, I can guarantee you that the hard-charging driver from North Carolina will be at all of the events this year, and that’s a plus for the class and all the fans…. Only a select few fuel teams will be at both Arizona test sessions, and that may include the C.S K. team of Del Worsham and Johnny Gray. You may remember that, last week, I mentioned about the availability of sponsors who are directly competing with Coca-Cola and POWERADE, and how they would be allowed to race this year (other than Gatorade). Well, did you know that, for the past five seasons, the C.S.K. team has also carried a Pepsi-Cola logo on their cars? The soft drink company has been a big part of Del’s team for years, and will be, again, in 2002. Seems the C.S.K. folks move a lot of product for Pepsi, and that makes it a nice relationship for both parties. After all, isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work?…The defending fuel champions, Kenny Bernstein and John Force will be at both and maybe all three of the practice venues, with those two drivers getting a lion’s share of the attention this weekend in Phoenix. Kenny because he’s the champ and entering his final year as a driver, and John, because, well, he’s John. That and the fact that there has been a subtle change in the crew chief department over in Force-land. John Medlen will now serve as the head guy on Gary Densham’s car and Jimmy Prock will call the shots on Tony Pedregon’s entry. Interesting, to say the least. Both Kenny and John tested at Firebird Raceway last year and they did so with completely different results. Kenny never got down the track all weekend, while John carded a best of 4.83 at an easy 293 mph. With the changes in crew chiefs, and all the talk about a

Whit Bazemore

fourth Funny Car, it will be interesting to see how John does this weekend….As the 2002 season begins, it will also be very interesting to see how the MATCO Tools car, driven by Whit Bazemore does right out of the box. Obviously, they’d love nothing better than to come to Phoenix and match Force stride for stride. Then again, maybe staying away and making John think isn’t a bad thing, either. All I know is that, at this time last year, the folks at National Dragster said that, "With all of the well financed teams out there, it won’ t be easy for John to win the Funny Car title." And you know what, everyone’s probably saying that this year, too. Any bets? Having said that, the two Schumacher team Funny Cars, Whit and Scotty Cannon, will be in Phoenix along with Tony Schumacher in the Army car. Ironically, Tony had a tough time testing last year, while Scotty went to Tucson and ran some great 4.90 runs. At that time, it looked like the Oakley car would be among those making life miserable for John Force. But like I said, this is only a test!

Several new teams will be in Phoenix, including Ken Zeal, the former boat racer and NHRA national event winner, who will be driving for Bill Miller Engineering this year. Ken, who won in Houston in 1997 (beating Bill Ancona), becomes the latest in a long line of former sportsman drivers who move up to the big time. And with Bill Miller, he is in the big time. That could prove to be a very interesting combination this year. And, while not a new team, but certainly new to

Clay Millican

the NHRA test sessions, I expect Clay Millican to show up in the desert this weekend as he prepares for both the NHRA and IHRA series this year. Talk about stepping up to the big time, is their anyone out there who wouldn’t expect to see this team compete for the title if they decided to run the entire, 23 race NHRA schedule in 2002? Mike Kloeber, who has been involved with some of the best teams in the sport, has that car running very well and they could sneak in and win at Pomona…. Again, not a new team, but with a new guy on board to help tune, Doug Herbert will be looking for a better weekend at Firebird Raceway this year than he had last year. In 2001, Doug was working with a new clutch system that prevented him from making any full passes. This year, with Johnny West helping Larry Frazier, Doug should be in position to return to the kind of year he had in 1999, when he won four events.

The unknown commodity in the test sessions will be Las Vegas. It will be the last of the three sessions and happens right before Pomona, not to mention that it’s on Super Bowl weekend. I do know for a fact that several Pro Stock teams will skip the Houston affair to go to Las Vegas, and a couple of the fuel teams may make their only practice runs of the season in Vegas, too. Among them could be Don Lampus, who is still putting the final touches on his sponsorship program. Still, wherever they test, and whatever the results, as Warren Johnson always says, everyone will be dead even when they arrive at Pomona. I can’t wait. See you in Phoenix!!