Wed, 26 Jan 2005, 11:37 AM Whack a Mole and You Can Buy a Seven-Second Super Stocker this Weekend

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2005 Auto Imagery, Inc.

A huge congratulations goes out to Greg Anderson for being named the Speed Channel "Driver of the Year" on Monday night. Along with John Force, who won it in 1996, Greg is only the second drag racer to be so honored and while that's good it begs the question, what about Shirley, "Big Daddy" and lots of the other drag racing greats? Whatever, let's not worry about the past let's just take pride that one of our own is now recognized as the best driver in the country. Oh, by the way, isn't this the same driver who was named to the second team by the auto racing writers and broadcasters? The second team? Maybe it's time for some new voters. Just a thought. Anyway, everyone at the Ken Black racing team should be extremely pleased and proud and so should all of the drag racing fans everywhere. And those who were in Las Vegas will recall that I said there would be a huge announcement that would be very good for drag racing and it's a good thing that I can keep a secret or I might have let the cat out of the bag. Maybe it was something about Fred Simmonds and Ken Black being at the test session on Friday or the fact the Fred was seen heading for Charlotte, North Carolina. Then again, maybe it wasn't. The folks at Summit Racing also have to be very pleased because its been nothing but great stuff since they teamed up with Greg and his team in the middle of the 2004 season.

Eric Medlen

With the first of three test session for the fuel cars in the books I would have to say that most of the teams who were in Las Vegas this past weekend passed their test. All three "Team Force" cars, all three "Team Schumacher" cars and the two Checker, Schuck's & Kragen cars looked good as they spent three glorious days at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In the end, Eric Medlen made the quickest run at a blazing 4.744 while the newest member of John Force's stable, Robert Hight, recorded top speed with the only 330 mph pass of the weekend. Did you know that Robert would only be the fifth driver ever to go over 330 in a Funny Car? Of course, since it's a test session, it won't be recorded as such but make no mistake about it,

Robert Hight

the folks who were there know what Robert did and he impressed everyone who saw him drive. Robert's run was far from perfect and the car did move around a little on the top end but he sure did a wonderful job of keeping it in the grove and he never missed a beat. On the run Robert went over 263 miles per hour at half-track and when I spoke with John Force, Austin Coil and Jimmy Prock after the run they all had high praises for the new kid on the block. I find it very interesting that John has selected Robert a year after naming Eric to drive the "Syntec" car because the two seem to be such polar opposites when it comes to personality, approach to driving and the strengths that they bring to the team. Having said that it's pretty apparent that John knows talent when he sees it whether it's from a very out going individual like Eric or a much quieter, introverted guy like Robert and it's pretty apparent that it should be another banner year for the team from Yorba Linda.

Whit Bazemore

Two of the most talked about cars at the Nitro Blast Off were the Matco Tools car driven by Whit Bazemore and the Mopar Oakley Dodge Stratus driven by Gary Scelzi. The purple paint job on Whit's car and the "snow-camo" job on the Scelzi's Dodge certainly are different and they were the topic of a lot of discussions. I've always liked the paint schemes on the Oakley machines over the years and the Matco folks have always made great use of their corporate logo. When you see these cars for the first time I think you'll agree that they are spectacular and I guarantee you that they will be among the most photographed cars in Pomona. Oh, by the way, did I mention that they both ran very well? Whit made his best run on Sunday when he ripped off a 4.750 at better than 328 miles per hour while Gary went 4.777 at almost 328 mph..While it hasn't been officially announced yet, Ron Capps was there with the "Brut Racing" car and he had to be very pleased with his weekend. Under the

Ron Capps

guidance of Ed McCulloch, Ron made the fastest run of his career when he went 326.32 on Sunday and he coupled that up with a 4.759 elapsed time. Ron had made another good run earlier in the weekend and everyone with whom I spoke was really pumped about the newest addition to the Schumacher camp. And, in case you're wondering, the folks at Brut are finalizing a few details on some additional sponsorship in and around the NHRA and when all of those "I's" are dotted and "T's" are crossed they will make the official announcement. The Brut car will be a factor in Pomona, remember where you heard it first.

Worsham's injector setup.

Del Worsham was really using the weekend as a test session and that was evident when he showed up with a Top Fuel injector setup on his Funny Car that made his CSK entry look like a Pro Mod car. To put it mildly, it got everyone's attention. Del made one run with the unit on the car and the results were mixed, but they seemed to be positive enough that you may see it in actual competition later this year. Of course they'll have to figure out how to let Del see around it before he races with it. When all was said and done Del had gone 4.79 at 323 before packing it in and leaving the track on Sunday..Phil Burkart, a previous winner in Las Vegas, made several runs in the CSK blue car and he finished with a best of 4.87..Tommy Johnson, the lone Funny Car driver for Don Prudhomme this year, was seen smiling after his best run of the weekend, a solid 4.779 that came on Monday. T.J. also ripped off a 326.89 mph run that is faster than he's ever gone before and that made all the guys in the blue shirts smile..a lot!! By the way, if you want to know why Tommy has always been so good on the starting line it may have something to do with the kid's game "Whack A Mole." Don't believe me, ask him....Bob Gilbertson wasn't testing his car but you could be soon. The guy who gave us the intern of the race last year is now planning on giving someone a chance to actually drive his car and I'm not talking about his street car, either. Just go to Bob's web site and you can read all the details on what could be the neatest promotion to hit the drag racing world in quite some time. Hey, how about this, a contest that would let you vote for the driver of the year with the auto writers and broadcasters next year. Just a thought.

Sampey vs Brown

Still in the testing mode..how about those U.S. Army motorcycles? Angelle and Antron both ripped off a 6-second pass in Florida this week and while it's true that this is only testing it is still very impressive. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Angelle may be the most talented rider in the bike class and I expect her to contend for the championship again this year. I've also said this before, the bike class should be more exciting this year than ever before and that's saying a lot. Steve Tartaglia will have "AS" and "AB" ready and rarin' to go at Gainesville...The testing will continue this week in Phoenix where you'll get your first real taste of the Top Fuel contingent, with the Kalitta cars, Larry Dixon, Tony Schumacher, Doug Herbert and plenty more in attendance. Of course it's also the same weekend as the Barrett-Jackson car auction so if

John Gallina

you've got nothing to do this weekend a trip to Phoenix would be the thing to do. By the way, speaking of the auction, did you know that you can buy the world's quickest and fastest Super car this weekend? That's right, the only 7-second Super Stock car in NHRA history is going up for auction this weekend when John Gallina's turbo Buick is on the blocks in Scottsdale. And the interesting thing about it is that the car is being sold at "no reserve," which means that it will go to the highest bidder regardless of how much or how little it brings. What an opportunity for someone to get a car that will go in the seven-second range right as it comes off the auction block. It's got to be a first for the B-J folks and it will be very interesting to see what this classic car brings this weekend. Hey, here's an idea, why not buy it and then just take it out to Firebird for the test session? Like I always say, just a thought.