Tue, 8 Oct 2002, 06:29 PM Something "Big" Is Going To Happen In Dallas!!

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2002 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Don Garlits

I know what you’re thinking just by reading the headline, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits is going to race in Dallas this weekend. Well, you’re right, he is, but that isn’t "The" big thing that’s going to happen this weekend. No, there is something really big, something historic that will take place at the Motorplex this weekend that has never happened before in NHRA history and do you know what it is? If you do, maybe you should be writing this column, but if you don’ t, I’ll tell you….next week. Actually, I’ll tell you Sunday if you’re listening to the audio cast over NHRA.com. I’m kind of excited about it and I can’t wait for Sunday.

Now, speaking of "Big." Did you know that Don Garlits won his last race at the Texas Motorplex in 1986? And guess what, so did Kenny Bernstein. Really, the "King of Speed" won in the Funny Car class at the Texas track on the same weekend that Don Garlits won in 1986 and neither of them has won there since then. Of course, "Big" hasn’t raced there much since then, but Kenny has. Did you know that in his last eight races there, Kenny has lost in the first round six times? His average starting spot over those eight races was 6^th, and his last final round in Ennis (where the "Dallas" track is actually located), was way back in 1991. Now, if you throw in the four spring races that were held there, Kenny has lost 9 times in the first round in his last twelve starts. Wow, that doesn’t sound like the makings of a good weekend for Kenny, does it? Of course, he did clinch his first Top Fuel title there in 1996, so it hasn’t been all bad for KB…. Larry Dixon, meanwhile, won the race last year in dominating fashion. Did you know that Larry was the top qualifier, he won the race and set the track record at 4.500 last year? Over his career, which began in 1995, Larry has that one win, four second-round losses and two semi-final finishes in Dallas. Oh yeah, and his average starting position over that time…6^th. Should be fun this time around.

Clay Millican

The Top Fuel field will get a nice boost if, indeed, Garlits does show up. Clay Millican will also return to action on the NHRA trail when he makes his first professional start at the all-concrete Motorplex. After his staging battle with Doug Herbert in Maple Grove, and after his IHRA winning streak ended at 10 races in a row, it’ll be interesting to see how Clay responds in Texas. While he hasn’t raced there as a pro, he did make several starts in the sportsman ranks….Speaking of sportsman, Darrell Russell, who will be running in front of his home crowd, won in Top Alcohol Dragster at the spring race here in 1998. He also had great success on the divisional level, so this "home track advantage" may be just what he needs to improve on that Chicago runner-up finish. Wayne Dupuy, his crew chief, is also racing at the track that’s closest to his home. Could be some winner’s circle celebration, huh?…Cory McClenathan, who will be flying the colors of Berryman, a Dallas-based company this week, is looking for what he calls a "break through" race. Well, this would be a good place for Cory to get that. Did you know that Cory has won this race three times, including the year 2000? And, did you know that he’ll be driving the same car this week that he drove at that 2000 event? Plus, did you know that Cory is the only TF driver in the history of this race to win it in consecutive years? Cory grabbed the title in 1996 & 1997 and nobody else has ever recorded back-to-back wins in the dragster class in Ennis. At that ’97 race, you may recall, Cory made the first run over 320 miles per hour in the sport’s history when he logged a 321.77 mph pass. I’ll never forget the expression on his face as they paraded Cory up the track in front of the packed grandstands at the "Plex." A great Texas moment to be sure, not as big as what will happen this weekend, but big.

Tony Pedregon

Everyone knows about the championship race in the Funny car class, where John Force leads his teammate, Tony Pedregon, by less than one round. Well, did you know that this track has been one of the best for Mr. Force? John has been to the final round at this event in eight of the past ten years and he ’s won 4 of those final rounds. Among those wins was the classic final round encounter with Chuck Etchells in 1993 and the historic red light final against Al Hofmann in 1997. By the way, some folks think, to this day, that John gave that final round away to Al who was returning to the finals for the first time since his devastating final round crash at Gainesville earlier that year. Let’s chalk that up to being just an "urban legend," OK?….John also clinched his 11^th title here last year, as well as locking up the championship in both 1995 & 1999. And, in possibly his most famous moment at this track, did you know that John and Ed McCulloch were both disqualified after their first round match in 1989? Yep, both drivers smoked the tires, got sideways and it looked like both guys hit the wall so they were both tossed. But then John came up and told the NHRA officials to look at his car, which had no marks on it, and then they actually went to a television replay, which confirmed that John hadn’t hit a thing. It may be the only time in NHRA history that a TV replay was used to confirm the result of a race. Oh, by the way, John came back in the next round and lost to Bruce Larson. All I’m trying to say is that if Tony wants to gain ground on the boss this weekend, he may have picked the wrong place to do it.

Del Worsham

Del Worsham, who is in a fight with Gary Densham for third place in the points, also made history at this event back in 1993. Did you know that, at that race, Del qualified for both the Top Fuel and the Funny Car classes? But that wasn’t the really historic moment, after all, several guys have qualified for both fields at the same event. The really historic moment came for Del when he fouled out in both classes, making him the first, and only driver ever to do that at one race. A big moment for sure, but nothing as big as what will take place this weekend….In the Funny Car class, Scotty Cannon, Ron Capps, Bob Gilbertson and Tommy Johnson all have recorded their career best numbers at this track (either elapsed time or top speed). But, as good and fast as this track historically has been, did you know that not a single, active Pro Stock driver currently has their career best numbers from this facility? Of course, you can expect that to change this weekend, especially if it’s cool and dry. Mostly dry!!

The Pro Stock battle should heat up this weekend, but I’ll tell you this; if Jeg Coughlin gains ground on his two closest competitors, Jim Yates and Greg Anderson, this thing is over! Jeggie, who has won six of the last nine events, appears to be in the driver’s seat, to coin a phrase. Jeggie, who won six of the first seven races in 2000, his championship season, just doesn’t appear to have any flaws in his game right now, and that’ll make it tough for both Jim and Greg….Did you know that Jim Yates clinched his first championship here in 1996, while Darrell Alderman clinched his second title here in 1991? Darrell, by the way, is in a heated battle with George Marnell and Bruce Allen for the final spot in this year’s Powerade Top 10. With only 26 points separating the three of them, every round and every qualifying pass will be important. Darrell and George haven’t helped themselves recently, failing to qualify for the past four and three races, respectively….Vieri Gaines is looking forward to this weekend, and why not? Did you know that "V" has won two races in his Pro Stock career and that they both came at this track? In fact, he is the defending event champion. But I expect all of the Pro Stock guys to get a real challenge this weekend from none other than "The Professor," Warren Johnson. As good as John Force has been here, "WJ" hasn’t exactly been a slacker. Did you know that Warren has been to the final round 11 times at this track, including both the spring and fall events? He’s got 5 wins, including three at the fall race, and any track that is officially listed as "fast," has to be playing right into Warren’s hands. Did you know that Warren made the first six-second run in the history of this track in 1995?

Arthur Gallant

Let’s take a moment to congratulate several of the top sportsman racers for their performances this past weekend at the divisional events in Darlington, South Carolina and in Noble, Oklahoma. Anthony Bertozzi, who won the Super Stock title at the Noble race, locked up the 2002 Lucas Oil World Championship with that win. While he is still frustrated (I know) because he hasn’t won a national event on the NHRA trail, Anthony should be extremely proud of grabbing the S/S crown, especially when he had to race his good friend, Peter Biondo, and Dan Fletcher among others along the way…..Arthur Gallant, who didn’t even race last weekend, won the Top Alcohol Dragster World Championship when his closest challenger, Duane Shields, lost in round one in Darlington. Did you know that Arthur now becomes the first driver of a fuel injected car to win the national championship in that class?….Tate Branch and Steve Gasparrelli both locked up divisional crowns this weekend and they did it at the same event. Tate, by virtue of his second round win over Jackie Stidham, took the D-4 crown, while Steve annexed the D-7 title by winning one round at Thunder Valley Raceway. The two, new champs were slated to meet in the final there, but Tate broke in the semis so Steve took an easy pass for the win….Jackie Stidham probably figured that this wasn’t his year to win, literally, after all, this is an even-numbered year. Did you know that Jackie has won the D-4 championship 5 times and that he did it in all odd-numbered years?… Lee Callaway won the D-4 dragster title while Marty Thacker wrapped up the Division 2 crown and Ed Schmeeckle kept his Division 5 title hopes alive with a victory in Noble. Nice going to all of those guys….Now, it’s off to Ennis to celebrate that historic moment this weekend. Hope to see you there.