NHRA NEWSMAKERS: Dec. 29, 2005
NHRA Newsmakers Your inside glimpse at the world's fastest motorsport WHO'S HOT! * Miller Lite vs. Budweiser vs. NHRA Media: Football Bowl picks. This time of the year all eyes are on college football. True fans live for bowl season - and even the most novice couch-campers pick their favorites come December. So in the true spirit of American pigskin pride, Top Fuel drivers Larry Dixon (more of an NFL-kinda guy) and Brandon Bernstein (proud graduate of Texas A&M) - of NHRA's own beer-war rivalry - face off in a three-way duel with our own Michael Padian. Can study win over luck? Or will Padian, a former sportswriter, pull out the win? Keep score to find out. Larry Dixon Brandon Bernstein Michael Padian (Miller Lite dragster) (Budweiser dragster) (NHRA Media) Vitalis Sun UCLA UCLA Northwestern Northwestern vs. UCLA Chick-fil-A Peach Miami LSU LSU Miami vs. LSU AT&T Cotton Alabama Texas Tech Texas Tech Texas Tech vs. Alabama Outback Florida Florida Florida Iowa vs. Florida Toyota Gator Louisville Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Louisville vs. Virginia Tech Capital One Auburn Wisconsin Auburn Wisconsin vs. Auburn Tostitos Fiesta Notre Dame Notre Dame Ohio State Notre Dame vs. Ohio State Nokia Sugar Georgia Georgia Georgia West Virginia vs. Georgia FedEx Orange Penn State Penn State Florida State Penn State vs. Florida State Rose Bowl USC USC USC USC vs. Texas DRIVERS TELL ALL * WHAT MAKES THE HOLIDAYS GROOVY? There's no doubt NHRA's "Wild Thing" knows how to attack - and win. Reigning POWERade Funny Car world champion Gary Scelzi already has tenacity, (almost) unshakable nerve and a fresh Wally for his trophy case. So what, oh what, did Scelzi ask for for Christmas? No. 1. - The 2006 POWERade Funny Car world championship No. 2. - For American troops to come home from Iraq No. 3. - A four-scoop chocolate ice cream sundae "I'm on a diet right now," Scelzi said. "I'm working out six days a week and with a personal trainer four days a week. I'm not getting any taller, I'm not getting any better-looking, but I have taken a notch off my belt." NEWS NUGGETS * KALITTA BEATS GRUBNIC DOWN UNDER. In the quickest side-by-side drag race in Australian history, two-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Scott Kalitta grabbed the title trophy and bragging rights over his Kalitta Motorsports teammate and native Australian Dave Grubnic in the final round of Top Fuel eliminations at the USA vs. Australia Boxing Day Top Fuel Nitro Thunder at Western Sydney International Dragway in Sydney, Australia on Tuesday. Kalitta's charge of 4.788 seconds at 298.21 mph was just barely enough to overcome Grubnic's pass of 4.805 at 259.66 mph in the finals. The Tuesday race capped off two days of drag racing at WSID. * NEWS FROM THE SOURCE. It started as an experiment: a first-hand glimpse at what it's really like for teams to drive the full, famed Western Swing from Denver to Sonoma, Calif. The inaugural NHRA Web blog (online diary) from Miller Lite crewman John Collins was a trial-of-sorts - and became so instantly popular that the staff of NHRA.com invited a group of POWERade drivers to document their 2005 seasons online. After a successful first try, the drivers agreed to share their ins-and-outs via computer once again. Bloggers for 2006 include: Top Fuel - Dave Grubnic, Doug Herbert, Hillary Will and David Baca; Funny Car - Team Checker Schuck's Kragen, Tommy Johnson Jr., and Bob Gilbertson; Pro Stock - Richie Stevens; and Pro Stock Motorcycle - Karen Stoffer. Follow their 2006 season at www.NHRA.com. * KID GETS HIS CHANCE. Twenty-three-year-old J.R. Todd, hailed as the "quickest, fastest African-American in motorsports," has been tapped as the new driver of the Menards/Tuttle Motorsports Top Fuel dragster. A driver since the age of 10, Todd worked his way through the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League before earning his Super Comp license at 16 years old. Todd soon attended the Frank Hawley NHRA School of Drag Racing, earned his IHRA Top Fuel license, and finished sixth in that series' point standings with a runner-up finish in 2000. Todd then signed on with Bob Gilbertson's crew as a team member - but he always had his eye on an NHRA POWERade ride. Todd joins the Menards team for pre-season testing at Las Vegas in mid-January. INSIDE THE NUMBERS * THE SEASON MAY BE OUT, but "The Professor" and his prodigy never stop. Veteran Pro Stock driver Warren Johnson (Buford, Ga.), known for his unrelenting study of the sport, and his son Kurt Johnson (Buford, Ga.) tested their rides this month at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Cecil, Ga. They all but scorched the all-concrete surface - Warren reached 210.08 mph in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac GTO and Kurt covered the quarter-mile in 6.604 seconds behind the wheel of his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt. Although NHRA records can only be set at officially sanctioned events, both are quicker and faster than the current national records set by Johnson family nemesis and reigning POWERade world champion Greg Anderson (Concord, N.C.) in Gainesville in 2005 (6.633, 208.23). Will a new Pro Stock champion be crowned in 2006? HE SAID, SHE SAID * Doug Herbert (Lincolnton, N.C.), Bob Gilbertson (Gastonia, N.C.) and Greg Anderson (Mooresville, N.C.) recently attended the 16th annual "Stocks for Tots" fundraiser in Mooresville, N.C. to sign autographs with various NASCAR stars and legends and create awareness about child abuse prevention. The event was originally founded to bring stock car racing into the community there. Herbert recounted his experience in his on-line blog at www.NHRA.com <http://www.nhra.com/> . "The autograph session started about 6 p.m.," Herbert said. "They gave us our own table at the front of the line ... At about 7:30 p.m. most of the NASCAR guys decided that it was time to leave. This blew me away. Fans had been waiting in line since 6 a.m. to get an autograph and these guys walked out. Amazing! But there was good news! Greg, Bob and myself stayed until the end. Joining us were some of the old-time NASCAR guys that I got a chance to meet. These guys were cool and they came from the old school. 'Tiger' Tom Pistone and 1960 NASCAR champ Rex White toughed it out with us until the last guest got an autograph." Read the latest news from Herbert at www.NHRA.com