NHRA Newsmakers: May 22, 2006
NHRA Newsmakers
Your inside glimpse at the world’s fastest motorsport
NEWS NUGGETS
* NHRA NAMED SECOND-FAVORITE MOTORSPORT BY FANS: In an ESPN Sports Poll released recently, fans ranked NHRA as their second-favorite type of motorsports attraction behind NASCAR. NHRA received 13.4 percent of the votes from fans polled from January-December of 2005 to anchor the second position. NASCAR led the poll with 59.5 percent, while motorcycle racing came in third with 9.7 percent of the votes. Formula 1 was fourth with 6.3; Indy Racing League (IRL) fifth with 6.1; Champ Car sixth with 1.4; and other racing series received .04 percent of the fan response. In 2004 an ESPN Sports Poll produced similar results with motorsports fans, as NASCAR led with 57.6 and NHRA was second with 13.9.
* IRP’S SMITH HONORED: Indianapolis Raceway Park Communications Manager Scott Smith was among 21 people honored by Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman with a 2006 Lt. Governor's Hoosier Hospitality Award. The awards honor those in the tourism industry for their contributions to Indiana's $9 billion tourism industry. Held in conjunction with Visit Indiana Week, the statewide celebration of tourism in Indiana, the Indiana Office of Tourism Development (IOTD) presents the awards annually to individuals in the hospitality and tourism industries who exemplify Hoosier hospitality. The awards recognize individuals who have offered outstanding service at Indiana hotels, attractions and restaurants.
* PERSONETT POSTS FASTEST SPORT COMPACT SPEED: Brad Personett, Orlando, Fla., clocked the fastest speed in NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Series history over the weekend in Atco, N.J. Defending Pro RWD world champion Personett drove his Titan Motorsports Scion tC to an historic 220.15 mph performance in qualifying on Saturday and was able to certify the run within the 1 percent requirement on Sunday for the national record. He also set a national elapsed time record of 6.51 seconds. Personett was able to back-up his speed in the first round of eliminations en route to his third victory in 2006 on the NHRA Xplôd Sport Compact Racing Series. In the final, he defeated Matt Scranton with a time of 6.55 seconds at 218.23 mph. Scranton, driving his Ride Revolution Toyota Solara, was tough to beat to the finish line with a 6.51 at 217.21.
* SHAFFER WINS POWERADE FAN NATIONALS IN COLUMBUS: Grove City, Ohio’s Chris Shaffer, 18, beat out hundreds of participants at the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals to become the local POWERade Fan Nationals event champion. Now, Shaffer will travel to Auto Club Raceway at Pomona at the end of the season to compete for the national championship. Shaffer, a senior at Grove City High School, will ultimately be one of 23 event champions from drag strips across the country to compete to become the Series Champion. He and one guest will travel to the 42nd Annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona the weekend of Nov. 9-12, 2006. There, Shaffer will compete in a series of qualifying rounds for the chance to claim the title of POWERade Fan Nationals Series Champion.
* TORCO TO SPONSOR NHRA POWERADE EVENT IN VIRGINIA: Torco Racing Fuels, a leading manufacturer of high-performance fuels, has signed a multiyear agreement with NHRA to become the title sponsor of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event at Virginia Motorsports Park near Richmond, Va. The inaugural Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals, Oct. 6-8, 2006, is the 21st of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The event, which will be televised by ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, will be a critical race for NHRA teams in contention for POWERade Series world championship titles.
* TRACK RECORDS TUMBLE AT COLUMBUS: Six of eight track performance records were set during the recent Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment at National Trail Raceway. Below is a breakdown of the track performance records that were established:
Top Fuel – E.T.: Tony Schumacher, 4.476 seconds
Funny Car – E.T.: Robert Hight, 4.715 seconds, Ford Mustang
MPH: Gary Scelzi, 329.58 mph, Dodge Charger
Pro Stock – E.T.: Jim Yates, 6.677 seconds, Pontiac GTO
MPH: Jason Line, 206.64, Pontiac GTO
PS Motorcycle – E.T.: Chip Ellis, 7.025 seconds, Buell
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
* SCHUMACHER HAS NO. 1 BLUES: Three-time NHRA POWERade Series Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher is mired in a slump this season and suffering from the No. 1 qualifying blues. The driver of the U.S. Army dragster has qualified No. 1 at five events this season, but has not turned those quick performances into success on race day. In fact, in the last three events where he has qualified No. 1 – including Gainesville, Las Vegas and this past weekend in Columbus – Schumacher has been upset in the first round by the No. 16 qualifier. In the season’s first two races – Pomona and Phoenix – Schumacher lost in the second round and semifinals respectively, giving him a 3-5 round record this season when he is the No. 1 qualifier. After dominating Top Fuel competition the last two seasons, Schumacher is currently eighth in the POWERade Series standings, 279 points behind leader and teammate Melanie Troxel.
"What can you say? We just continue to struggle," Schumacher said. "We could sit here and feel sorry for ourselves but that won't accomplish anything. We've got to work hard and keep moving forward. We'll get it together before too long and then this bad stretch will end up being just a distant, ugly memory."
COMING ATTRACTIONS
* O’REILLY NHRA SUMMER NATIONALS PRESENTED BY CASTROL GTX, TOPEKA, KAN., MAY 25-28: Last year Australian native Dave Grubnic became the first non-North American native to win an NHRA Top Fuel race at this event. Can the Aussie repeat?
* CARQUEST AUTO PARTS NHRA NATIONALS, JOLIET, ILL., JUNE 8-11: This is the only opportunity for Chicagoland fans to witness the 300 mph action of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series at Route 66 Raceway in 2006.
* MOUNTAIN MADNESS NHRA SPORT COMPACT NATIONALS, DENVER, JUNE 10-11: The world’s quickest and fastest sport compact cars invade scenic Bandimere Speedway as drivers pursue NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series titles.
* K&N FILTERS SUPERNATIONALS, ENGLISHTOWN, N.J., JUNE 15-18: All eyes will be on Larry Dixon as the Miller Lite Top Fuel driver tries to win on Father’s Day for the sixth consecutive year.
* O’REILLY NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS PRESENTED BY CASTROL, ST. LOUIS, JUNE 23-25: NHRA teams will compete under the lights in three spectacular nights of racing at Gateway International Raceway.
HE SAID, SHE SAID
* BERNSTEIN VICTORY A CONFIDENCE BOOST: Brandon Bernstein claimed his first victory of the season and 10th of his career at Columbus, defeating Cory McClenathan in the final round. With the win, Bernstein moved into third in the POWERade Series points order, 175 behind season-long leader Melanie Troxel. The impressive victory, with veteran crew chief Tim Richards tuning the car to a string of consistent 4.5-second runs throughout eliminations, has Bernstein thinking POWERade Series world championship. “I think we're contenders,” said Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster. “We certainly have the car and the capability to win the championship. This team has gotten it done before. [Melanie Troxel] got a good lead on all of us but we have a long way to go this year and if you can have a few days like today when she goes out early and you go on, it doesn't take long to catch up."
WHO’S HOT!
* BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR PEDREGON: Tony Pedregon, the driver of the Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo, raced to his second consecutive victory at Columbus and moved from 12th overall into sixth position in the Funny Car point standings in the NHRA POWERade Series championship chase. It was Pedregon’s 31st career victory, moving him into third on the all-time Funny Car wins list, ahead of Kenny Bernstein (30 FC wins). "We put so much time and effort into what we do," Pedregon said. "On the surface it seems like such a glamorous job but it's a lot of work just to get to the track. To win one race out here is very difficult. To win two in a row is fantastic.”
DRIVERS TELL ALL
* BAZEMORE POSTS RUNNER-UP FINISH AFTER TEAM SCHUMACHER THRASH: Whit Bazemore raced to his best finish of the season at Columbus, driving his Matco Tools Dodge Charger to the runner-up spot. After experiencing an engine fire in the semifinals, Bazemore’s crew got a little help from some friends to make sure his machine was able to make the call for the final round. Bazemore, who moved into eight in the POWERade Series Funny Car point standings, says his team is turning the corner after a slow start to the season. “We had the best car each round (at Columbus)," Bazemore said, "and after the first round I could smell the win. I could just taste it; it was going to happen. Unfortunately, there was an electrical gremlin in the box (that holds the timers that activates the clutch) in the final round and nothing worked. In the semifinal a head stud pulled out and torched the head gasket and then the boost went sky high. It basically just burned itself up and slung some rods out. We had guys over (in the pit) after the semis when we really had a mad thrash. We had the Brut guys, the Oakley guys, the Army guys, some of Melanie's (Troxel) guys. So, it was really a big team effort. In light of the stuff that happened recently, it was really refreshing and nice and deeply appreciated. To have the whole team come together like that was very, very cool, I thought. I wanted to win it for all those guys; they made a hell of an effort. We didn't. The fact is we're in a good position now and I feel really good.”
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