NHRA Newsmakers: Aug. 14, 2006
Your inside glimpse at the world's fastest motorsport WHO'S HOT? ANTRON BROWN: The rider of the U.S. Army Suzuki moved back into the points lead, leaping from fourth to first place, with his victory in Brainerd. This was his second consecutive final round appearance. He lost to Chip Ellis in Sonoma when he fouled at the start. Despite that loss, he came back with a strong win against Steve Johnson in this week's final. Brown collected his second win of 2006 after defeating Johnson with a time of 7.108 seconds at 186.85 mph. Brown last held the points lead when he won at Atlanta in May. "It's definitely a wonderful feeling (to take the points lead again)" Brown said. "But, I really wanted to win this race regardless of the standings situation. You might recall that I gave away a sure win in Sonoma, Calif., two weeks ago. I needed to bounce back in a big way, especially for our soldiers. I owed them a victory." NEWS NUGGETS * CAPTAIN CHAOS RETURNS: Kenny Koretsky, known as "Captain Chaos" for his ability to drive two different categories of cars (Top Fuel and Pro Stock) at one event in 1990, returned to the driver's seat at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. Koretsky was involved in an accident with Bruce Allen last year, and he had been waiting for the right time to return to the track. He not only returned, but successfully qualified for the show before losing to Pro Stock points leader Jason Line in the first round. * WHAT COULD IT BE?: Funny Car points leader and driver of the Brut Dodge Charger Ron Capps is keeping a secret, and he won't let it out until Indianapolis. Actually, he says that his crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch is the one with the secret. "Ace is one of the winningest drivers in U.S. Nationals history," Capps said. "And he has told me that he has a special secret for the competition this year at Indy. With his credentials at this event, I can't wait to see what he has up his sleeve." Keep your eyes, and maybe nose, open for the unveiling of the secret at Indy. * AGE PROVES TO BE BETTER THAN YOUTH: In a year where youth has been prevailing in the POWERade Fan Nationals, Jim Tarasenko has proven that a little maturity is good. Tarasenko, from Minot, N.D., is the oldest local champion this year at 53 years of age to win the POWERade Fan Nationals at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd. COMING ATTRACTIONS ******** O'REILLY NHRA MID-SOUTH NATIONALS, MEMPHIS, TENN., AUG. 18-20: Funny Car legend John Force claims to have seen Elvis at 1,000 feet down the quarter-mile track at Memphis Motorsports Park during this popular event. * PALM BEACH NHRA SPORT COMPACT NATIONALS, JUPITER, FLA., AUG. 19-20: The world's quickest and fastest sport compact cars battle for the prestigious NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series world championship titles. * MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS, INDIANAPOLIS, AUG. 30-SEPT. 4: The world's most prestigious, richest and longest running drag race is a Labor Day weekend tradition at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Every driver wants to win the super bowl of drag racing and join eight-time winner "Big Daddy" Don Garlits in the NHRA record book. * TOYO TIRES NHRA NATIONALS, READING, PA., SEPT. 14-17: Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher looks to continue his winning streak, consecutive wins in the last three years, in the beautiful Amish countryside of Pennsylvania. INSIDE THE NUMBERS * .786: Any baseball player would be proud of this batting average, but this is not a batting average. It is the final round winning percentage of the driver of the Budweiser/ Lucas Oil dragster, Brandon Bernstein. He is a phenomenal 11-3 in final rounds in his four years of racing in the POWERade Series. He extended his winning record at Brainerd with a victory over the circuit's hottest driver, Tony Schumacher. DRIVERS TELL ALL LOOK OUT MEMPHIS J.R. IS COMING: J.R. Todd, who had the hottest Western Swing of any driver with two wins in three events, was not so lucky in Minnesota. He missed a round of qualifying and failed to make it out of the first round of eliminations with a loss to Melanie Troxel. Despite this setback, Todd is looking forward to the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn. "We just didn't have enough steam. The track was real good and so was the weather (after the rain clouds departed), and Jimmy (Walsh, the crew chief) tuned it up . . . but it wasn't enough. Except for that one time here, the car is going down the track like it should and the crew is getting better and better. We're ready to go to Memphis."