NHRA NEWSMAKERS: Dec. 19, 2005
NHRA Newsmakers Your inside glimpse at the world's fastest motorsport NEWS NUGGETS * A JOLLY OLD ELF: John Force, 13-time NHRA POWERade world champion and winner of a record 119 races, put countless smiles on the faces of Southern California children as host of a recent holiday car show which benefited the California Highway Patrol's "ChiP's for Kids" toy drive. Force, doing his best Santa impersonation, entertained more than 18,000 fans with 780 show cars and autograph opportunities with NHRA superstars Eric Medlen (Indianapolis), Robert Hight (Anaheim Hills, Calif.), Ashley Force (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and Brandon Bernstein (Indianapolis), among others. The single-day event at his Yorba Linda, Calif.-based race shop, netted more than 10,000 toys for the program. * GRUBNIC GOES FOR SPEED OF 531 DOWN UNDER: "Aussie" Dave Grubnic (Ypsilanti, Mich.), a native of Brisbane, Australia, will return to his homeland to race for the first time in his 11-year career over the holidays. During two exhibition races he will try to impress his hometown fans by pushing his StriVectin S-D dragster to a speed of 531 km/h, or roughly 330 mph. He will compete against Kalitta Motorsports teammate Scott Kalitta (Snead Island, Fla.) during two Top Fuel match-races: one at Western Sydney International Dragway, Dec. 26-27, and the other at Queensland's Willowbank Raceway, Jan. 6-7. Grubnic, the 2004 Budweiser Shootout winner, earned his first national event victory in 2005 at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas after seven previous runner-up finishes. Kalitta, who will move to Funny Car in 2006, is a two-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion and winner of 18 national event titles. * 2006 PRE-SEASON TEST SCHEDULE SET: NHRA POWERade Series teams will be able to prepare for the 2006 season at one of three scheduled test sessions during the months of January and February. - Nitro Blast Off, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jan. 20-23 - National Time Trials, Firebird International Raceway, Phoenix, Jan. 28-30 - Last Chance Test Session, The Strip at LVMS, Feb. 3-5 - 14th annual Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown, The Strip at LVMS, Feb. 4 The 2006 NHRA POWERade Series season opens Feb. 9-12 at the CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The 23-race, $50-million series will be televised on ESPN2. INSIDE THE NUMBERS * Two-time NHRA POWERade Series Top Fuel world champion Larry Dixon (Indianapolis) hopes to reach a milestone in elimination round wins at the 2006 season-opening CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Feb. 9-12. Dixon, who drives the Miller Lite dragster for NHRA legend Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, will earn his 400th elimination round win if he's successful in his first round meeting. Dixon is the winningest active Top Fuel driver, and among active drivers in all categories is fourth overall, behind only Funny Car kingpin John Force (926) and the Pro Stock Johnson tandem of Warren (818) and Kurt (418). HE SAID, SHE SAID * As Funny Car dominator John Force (Yorba Linda, Calif.) prepares for a 2006 quest to reclaim his lost NHRA POWERade world championship crown, he admits that he learned a valuable lesson in '05 after finishing third to champion Gary Scelzi and second-place driver Ron Capps. "I made one very big mistake," Force told Rob Geiger of nhra.com. "I thought I was unbeatable. I see now it was a mistake. After 14 winning seasons I felt like the Bismarck. I thought I was unsinkable. I didn't get shot down. I shot myself. I took for granted that I was too big; that the machine was too strong. Then two really hungry guys came along and upset me... People asked me why I wasn't showing any pressure down the stretch. Hell, I didn't feel any pressure. I didn't think I could lose. I figured we'd find a way, so there wasn't any pressure from my end. But now there is. I won't ever make that mistake again. I don't want to take a thing away from Gary Scelzi or Ron Capps. They had great years. They deserved to finish in front of me and I congratulate them. I love them both and I'm happy for them." WHO'S HOT! * Three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Shirley Muldowney is remembered for a lot of things - from the signature hot pink dragster she used to mow down her competition, to the barriers she broke down for her female successors on the quarter-mile drag strip. Next March she'll add one more accolade to her already bursting trophy case, one that also includes 18 NHRA national event victories. Muldowney tops the list of the 2006 inductees into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, headquartered at the Ocala, Fla.-based museum owned by another legend of the sport, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. Eight other notable high-achievers from the drag racing industry will join Muldowney on the stage that evening, including: 1960s-era Super Stock great Arnie Beswick; championship crew chief Jim Brissette; Top Gas star Gordon Collett; safety-equipment aficionado Jim Deist; Funny Car standouts Jim Dunn and Bruce Larson; former NHRA official Steve Gibbs; camshaft expert Joe Lunati; and cylinder-head know-it-all Joe Mondello. DRIVERS TELL ALL * Reigning NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series world champions Tony Schumacher (Chicago), Gary Scelzi (Fresno, Calif.), Greg Anderson (Charlotte, N.C.) and Andrew Hines (Indianapolis) are ready to pull back the throttle and enjoy a relaxing Christmas with their families. Schumacher earned his third Top Fuel crown with a record-setting season behind the wheel of the U.S. Army dragster. "I am just looking forward to spending the holiday with as many family members as possible," said Schumacher, who set records for consecutive victories (5), consecutive final rounds (7), consecutive elimination round wins (20) and the single-season mark for No. 1 qualifying positions (11) during his amazing run in 2005. "That's what it's all about in my eyes." Schumacher plans to escape the bitter cold weather of his hometown of Chicago and take his family to sunny Florida for the holidays. "Santa will probably have to get to our house on a jet ski instead of in a sleigh," Schumacher said. "I hope the reindeer don't mind sitting one out. I'm not sure what Santa may have in store for me. I guess we'll just have to be surprised when the time comes. Frankly, our priority is to make sure Santa brings lots of cool stuff for my three kids. We've been working on their list for a while now, so we'll see what happens when the big guy in the red suit visits." Scelzi, who drove his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus to edge teammate Ron Capps (Carlsbad, Calif.) by eight points for the crown in the closest championship points battle in Funny Car history, says his Santa wish list got checked off early. "He already delivered," Scelzi said with a smile, "in November." Scelzi says he and his family will stay close to home for the holidays. "We always spend Christmas Eve with my parents and Christmas day with Julie's parents and it's a big feast," said Scelzi, a three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion who became only the second driver in history to win titles in both nitro categories. "All of the cousins and everybody gets together in both places and they go crazy opening their gifts. At my parents' (house) we open them on Christmas Eve and at Julie's parents' (house) we open them on Christmas morning. The ruckus starts about 5:30 in the morning. 'When are we going to Grandma's? When do we open presents?' It's all for the kids now." Anderson, who raced to his third consecutive Pro Stock world championship title in '05, says he has asked Santa to bring him 20 more horsepower for his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO. Anderson, who in the past had spent Christmas with family in his native Minnesota, says this year both sides of his extended family will join him, wife Kim and their children (Brittany and Cody) at their home for a North Carolina Christmas. After a huge family feast and session of opening gifts, Anderson says he'll be back in the shop getting ready for the 2006 NHRA POWERade Series season trying to squeeze every ounce of horsepower out of the new DRCE-3 engine. Hines, who claimed his second consecutive POWERade Series world championship title in Pro Stock Motorcycle on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson, has asked Santa for two Shina Ibu puppies and is planning to have a major feast with friends and family in Colorado after enjoying the scenic drive from Indianapolis.