Wed, 10 Nov 2004, 01:01 PM It Ought To Be Some Weekend

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2004 Auto Imagery, Inc. & Bob Johnson

Andrew Hines

Well, it’s all come down to this, the final weekend of the 2004 POWERade drag racing season. In the pro classes most of the suspense is already gone and the only title that remains to be claimed is in the Pro Stock Bike class. Andrew Hines is poised to become the youngest professional champion ever when he qualifies for the race and he will qualify. Did you know that Andrew has only failed to qualify one time while his brother, Matt, who ran almost one hundred races, never missed a field? Those Hines boys are pretty good, aren’t they?...There is a battle for second place in the bike class between Antron Brown and Angelle Savoie. Antron leads his U.S. Army teammate by a scant four points going into the weekend….About the only suspense this weekend will be what the NHRA folks have decided will be the number one moment in the history of the “Finals.”  I’ve got to tell you that I was stunned that it wasn’t the 1990 race where Joe Amato and Gary Ormsby squared off on Saturday for the Budweiser Shootout title and then met in the final round on Sunday for the Top Fuel championship. That was one of the most exciting days in the history of the sport. Worthy of note here is the fact that all three of the pro titles were still up for grabs coming into the 1990 “final.” John Force clinched his first championship just by qualifying while Darrell Alderman wrapped up his championship by winning two rounds. Did you know that Bob Glidden came into that final race in 1990 in fifth place and left Pomona in second place?...Dick LaHaie’s come from behind effort in 1987 also has to rank way up on the list. Did you know that when Dick won the title that year he was never ahead in the point all season long until he beat Joe Amato in the semi-finals?...Speaking of Joe, I spoke with him after the race in Las Vegas and he was pretty excited about his team and its future. Joe told me that all of the pieces are in place for the 2005 season and that he, like most people, has been really impressed with the poise and talent of his driver, Morgan Lucas. He also heaped praise on his crew, led by Wayne Dupuy, and I think this team can be a real contender next year. Like all of the teams who will be in Pomona they would like to end the year on a high note, which means with a win, but as we all know only one team can do that and the others will go limping into the off-season.

Dixon and family.

One of the highlights of this weekend will be the auction to benefit Julie Russell. Larry Dixon and his wife, Allison, have put a great deal of time and effort into this auction and it’s great to see how the entire racing community has responded. There will be items for everyone, from hero cards to one of a kind racing helmets, driving suits, compete engines and more including a lot of NASCAR stuff and all of the money that is raised will go to Julie. If you’re at the race make sure you stop by on Saturday night and if you can’t make it to Pomona watch for some great items that will be auctioned on-line. And thanks to the Dixon’s for their time and effort, not to mention the love and care that they have put in to this huge undertaking….Tony Schumacher has had a great season and he will be looking to make it the best season ever in Top Fuel this weekend. If he can win the “Finals” Tony will establish a single-season mark for the most wins in Top Fuel history. With nine wins already, Tony has one weekend remaining to break the tie that he is now in with Gary Scelzi and Larry Dixon. One record that Tony can’t get is the most round wins in a year by a dragster driver. Did you know that Kenny Bernstein won 61 rounds in 2001 and that’s the best round total in Top fuel history? Going into Pomona Tony has won 56 rounds, so even if he wins, the “King” will still be the king….By the way, Kenny will be part of a big press conference at Pomona but don’t read too much into it. As of this time, as much as he would like to return to the driver’s seat, Kenny doesn’t have any plans in place to do so…..In addition to the top spot already being secure, most of the other spots in the top ten are locked up as well. About the only battle that I see is the one for seventh and eighth place between Cory McClenathan and Doug Herbert. Cory is ahead by thirty-three points, slightly more than one round, and if he can keep pace with Doug this weekend the “Carrier Boyz” car will finish the year in seventh place. Did you know that Cory is the only active TF driver with more than one win at the “Finals?”…Ed McCulloch, who has been Doug Herbert’s crew chief this year, will not be with the Snap-On car next year but he will be with, ah, I can’t tell you just yet, but stay tuned.

Del Worsham

The Funny Car class has a little bit of excitement with Gary Scelzi and Del Worsham tied for second place going into the race. To put it in its simplest terms, the driver who has the best weekend will finish second and that’s worth a lot of money, $50,000 to be exact, because that’s the difference between finishing in second or third place.  Did you know that Del has won more rounds than Gary this year but that Gary has earned more points during qualifying and that’s why they are tied? Throw in the fact that both drivers have had a great second half of the year and it will be very interesting to see how this plays out over the weekend. Both drivers, by the way, have great records in final rounds this year. Did you know that Del is 5-0 in finals this year (and he’s won eight straight going back to last year) and that includes two wins over John Force? Gary, meanwhile, is 3-0 in final rounds against John Force this year including wins at the last two events. So let’s see, who has  the advantage going into this weekend? Both drivers have enjoyed their best years in the Funny car class and both should be factors in ’05. Speaking of Del, I was surprised when the folks at National Dragster ran their recent “Reader’s Choice” section and didn’t mention Del as one of the guys who had raced both Top Fuel and Funny Car and he did it at the same event. Did you know that, other than John Force, Del is the only active FC driver with more than one win at this event?….Three FC drivers, Gary Densham, Eric Medlen and Whit Bazemore could all  finish as high as fourth in the points depending on how they do this weekend. Gary has 1,328 points, Eric has 1,322 and Whit has 1,306. Doesn’t take a math wizard to see how important every qualifying run and every round will be for those guys and not just for the money (fourth place pays $30,000 while sixth place pays 20 grand) but for bragging rights and that all important momentum going into next year…..If you like a dark horse favorite this weekend, how about Jerry Toliver. Did you know that Jerry has won five national events and that three of those wins have come at Pomona?...Jack Wyatt will be flying the letters “LEM” on the side of his car this weekend. LEM is a leader in on board automotive battery condition monitoring systems and is closely aligned with all major automotive manufacturers. Let’s hope Jack has a good weekend and that this can turn into more than a one race deal? And it’s nice to see new people on the side of our cars, isn’t it?

Jason Line

At least one streak will come to an end in Pro Stock this weekend. Both Warren Johnson and Jeg Coughlin have win streaks going and since they both can’t win (they pay me big bucks to point that out to you) at least one of them will have their streak come to a screeching halt. Did you know that Warren has won at least one race every year since 1982 and that Jeg has won at least one a year since 1997? Warren had two years in that streak, 1983 and 1987, when he only won one race and did you know that both of those wins came at Pomona? In fact, his ’83 win came at the last race of the year when he beat Lee Shepherd. Can history repeat itself?  By the way, there was one other Pro Stock driver in that 1983 “Finals” field who will be driving this weekend, do you know who it is? How about that Rickie Smith? Ironically, Warren beat Rickie in the first round….Jason Line has just about wrapped up second place (he’s 69 points up on Dave Connolly), but there will be a battle for fourth and sixth place. Currently, Kurt Johnson leads Larry Morgan by thirteen points in the chase for fourth place while Jeg Coughlin leads Bruce Allen by twenty points in the chase for sixth place….Bruce Allen will be looking for his fourteenth top ten finish while Ken Koretsky will be looking for his first….Did you know that Bob Glidden won this race an amazing eleven times and that’s more than any other driver has won any race in NHRA history?

Bill Reichert

While the pro stuff is pretty much over there are still four Lucas Oil World titles that won’t be decided until this weekend. The Top Alcohol Dragster field will see Bill Reichert, Randy Meyer and Mitch Meyers all come into town with a shot at being the world champ. In Stock Eliminator, Lee Zane is the leader and only Jeff Hefler can catch him while Doug Doll, Rock Haas and Lyndon Rutland can all claim the 8.90 crown and Tommy Stalba and Jonathan Womack are the only two who can do the deed in Super Gas. I’ll have more on all of these on Thursday but let’s just say good luck to all of them and may the best man win….In the other classes, Cy Chesterman is the alky funny car champ, Dean Carter backed up his 2003 Competition Eliminator title with another championship this year and Larry Stewart has effectively locked everyone out in the battle for the Super Stock crown. Quite a year in the sportsman ranks and we will see no less than five first-time champions and maybe six depending on how the Stock battle comes out. Some fun this sportsman racing, huh?