NHRA Newsmakers: Sept. 11, 2006

NHRA Newsmakers

Your inside glimpse at the world's fastest motorsport

NEWS NUGGETS

* ALL CATEGORIES HEAT UP WITH FIVE TO GO: NHRA POWERade Series world championship points races in each of the four professional categories have become intense with five races remaining on the 2006 calendar. In Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta holds a 54 point lead over red-hot Tony Schumacher, recent winner of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Brandon Bernstein is 96 points back in third place. In Funny Car the title race has evolved into a two-man battle, with Ron Capps holding a 19 point lead over John Force. Despite Greg Anderson's heroic performance at Indy, Jason Line maintained his lead at 59 points in Pro Stock. Dave Connolly is also in the hunt, 135 points back. The closest race is in Pro Stock Motorcycle and that category only has three races remaining on the schedule. Two-time and defending series champ Andrew Hines holds an eight point lead over Antron Brown. Angelle Sampey and Chip Ellis also are title contenders.

* CAPPS BATTLES TONY STEWART, OTHERS IN ALL-STAR DIRT RACE: Ron Capps, who drove the new Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car to the semifinals at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis over Labor Day weekend, made a recent diversion from the quarter-mile at the Nextel Prelude to the World at famed Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, Ohio. He drove a Brian Ruhlman-owned Late Model to a fourth place finish in the A-Main, a second place finish in the heat race and a sixth place starting position with a 16.1 second lap. At the event Capps squared off against 17 NASCAR, USAC, and dirt-racing stars on the half-mile clay high-banked oval, including Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Kenny Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Bill Elliott, Red Farmer, Bobby Labonte, Levi Jones, Dave Blaney, Mike Wallace, Ken Schrader, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, and Josh Wise. In the A-Main, Capps ran as high as third and had an exciting back-and-forth rally with Schrader but failed to hold off a hard-charging Stewart, who came from the back row to pass Capps and two others to take the victory. Capps captured fourth place, behind Stewart, Blaney, and Mike Wallace. Schrader ended up 11th. "We had two laps of qualifying, and then the main event was set up as a full-blown race," said Capps. "I was third for a long time in the A-main. Tony Stewart came by me from the back row with about five laps to go. I had been thinking I could finish third. He was coming fast. But I finished ahead of Kenny Schrader and some other guys, like Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, and others. It was awesome."

* ACDELCO RENEWS GATORNATIONALS SPONSORSHIP: ACDelco, a global leader in automotive replacement parts and services, has extended its title sponsorship of the tradition-rich NHRA Gatornationals, held at historic Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway, one of five dragstrips owned and operated by NHRA. The 38th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals, March 15-18, is the third event in the 23-race, $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series in 2007. The race will be televised by ESPN2 HD. "We are excited that ACDelco has renewed its title sponsorship of the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals," said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president-Sales & Marketing. "A truly dedicated supporter of NHRA throughout the years, ACDelco has demonstrated through a variety of entitlement programs how to effectively utilize NHRA event and team sponsorships to promote its products. As title sponsor of the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals, ACDelco has aligned itself with one of the most legendary and exciting events in the NHRA POWERade Series and one of NHRA's strongest individual event brands." ACDelco also is the title sponsor of the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as well as the primary sponsor for Kurt Johnson's Chevy Cobalt in Pro Stock and an associate sponsor of Warren Johnson's GM Performance Parts Pontiac GTO.

* NHRA PASSINGS: In recent weeks, three notable retired NHRA professional drivers have passed away. On Aug. 26 hot rod pioneer Creighton Hunter died at age 86; On Sept. 2 longtime Funny Car competitor Gordon Mineo, who posted two career runner-up finishes in NHRA national event competition during the early 1990s, died from injuries suffered in a boating accident in Oklahoma; and on Sept. 9 former Funny Car racer Len Seroka passed away after a long battle with cancer.

WHO'S HOT!

* ANDERSON JOINS ELITE COMPANY: Three-time and defending NHRA POWERade Series Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson added another line to his incredible resume with his fourth consecutive Mac Tools U.S. Nationals victory last weekend at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. With the win behind the wheel of his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO, Anderson joined category legends Bob Glidden (1985-'88) and Warren Johnson (1992-'95) as the only three drivers in NHRA history to win the prestigious event in four straight seasons. "It's incredible in this day and age to win four in a row at the race where everybody goes all out to win" said Anderson, a five-time Indy winner who has 41 career victories. "I know the competition was awesome when those guys did it, but it's even more brutal now. I feel very humbled and privileged."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

* 40: With Super Comp racer Heather Robilotto's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals victory last Monday at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, there are now 40 different female national event winners in NHRA history. Robilotto, from Albany, N.Y., drove her dragster to the final round victory over Jimmy Lewis, of Forney, Texas. With the win, she becomes only the fourth woman to win the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, joining Shirley Muldowney (1982, Top Fuel), Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle, 2002 & 2001) and Ashley Force (2004, Top Alcohol Dragster).

COMING ATTRACTIONS

*         TOYO TIRES NHRA NATIONALS, READING, PA., SEPT. 14-17: Top Fuel
driver Tony Schumacher looks to continue his winning ways at scenic
Maple Grove Raceway. Schumacher has driven his U.S. Army dragster to the
last three Top Fuel victories at the Pennsylvania track.

*         O'REILLY NHRA FALL NATIONALS, DALLAS, SEPT. 21-24: The
all-concrete quarter-mile Texas Motorplex, the sport's first 'Super
Track,' will host the world's fastest Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars
as teams chase NHRA POWERade Series world championship glory.

*         NHRA SPORT COMPACT FALLNATIONALS, ENGLISHTOWN, N.J., SEPT.
30-Oct. 1: The world's quickest and fastest sport compact cars battle
for the prestigious NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series world
championship titles at historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

*         TORCO RACING FUELS NHRA NATIONALS, RICHMOND, VA., OCT. 6-9:
The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series returns to Virginia Motorsports
Park for the first time since the 2000 season. At stake: NHRA POWERade
Series world championship titles. NHRA Funny Car dominator John Force is
looking forward to returning to the Mid-Atlantic quarter-mile track
where he has won four of the six previous races held there.


DRIVERS TELL ALL


*        U.S. NATIONALS DREAM COMES TRUE FOR HIGHT: Robert Hight drove
his Auto Club Ford Mustang to the Funny Car victory at the Mac Tools
U.S. Nationals, the world's most prestigious drag race. He defeated
series points leader Ron Capps in the semis before edging two-time Indy
winner Whit Bazemore at the finish line for the victory in the final
round. A crew member for many years for John Force Racing before getting
the chance to drive last season, Hight can't believe his name is now on
the same list with Funny Car immortals who have won Indy such as Don
Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, Raymond Beadle and Tom McEwen, to name a
few. "It hasn't sunk in yet," Hight said. "The pressure of this race is
unbelievable. You come in telling yourself that it is just another race
and then you see that is not the case. I didn't think I'd ever get to
drive one of these cars, let alone drive for John Force. To come here,
to a race I watched so many times as a fan and as a crew guy for John,
and to find a way to win is beyond anything you can dream of. I always
wondered what I'd do if I was here in this spot, and now I don't know
what to do."


HE SAID, SHE SAID


*        ASHLEY FORCE STILL LEARNING:  There has been much speculation
as to when Ashley Force will make the move to Funny Car. Some media
outlets have reported that it could be as soon as this season's event at
Texas Motorplex or the fall race in Las Vegas. However the 23-year-old
daughter of 13-time NHRA POWERade Series champ John Force told NHRA.com
reporter Rob Geiger that she is still learning every day and that a
definite date hasn't been set for when she'll turn pro.  "Everyone keeps
saying it'll be 2007, but I might stay in Top Alcohol Dragster for
another year," said Ashley, who recently earned her Funny Car license
and has posted a personal best of 4.897 seconds at 314.39 mph during
Funny Car testing.  "A lot has to happen for us to make the move. I want
to be totally comfortable. We need to get a crew together that will just
work on my car. They'll need to replace 'Guido' (designated crew chief
Dean Antonelli) on his crew. We haven't even figured out the sponsorship
deal yet. The thing is there is no rush. I've been racing five years
now, but I'm still learning. The main goal right now is to get me ready
so that if we do want to move up, if the situation is right, then I'll
be ready to go."