NHRA NEWS: Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals
TORCO RACING FUELS NHRA NATIONALS
WHAT: Inaugural Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals, the
21st of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
Professional competitors in three categories earn points leading to 2006
NHRA POWERade Series world championships.
Sportsman competitors in six categories earn
points leading to 2006 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series world
championships.
WHERE: Virginia Motorsports Park, Dinwiddie, Va. From the
north, take I-95 south to I-85 (Exit 51), then to Route 1 (Exit 63A).
Route 1 turns into Boydton Plank Rd. Drive four miles and the Park is on
the right; from the south, Take I-95 north to I-85 (Exit 51) then to
Route1 (Exit 63A). Route 1 turns into Boydton Plank Rd. Drive four miles
and the Park is on the right; from the southwest, take I-85 North to
Dinwiddie (Exit 53), then at the top of the exit ramp take a left onto
Route 703 and drive one mile until you get to the stop sign. Take a
right onto Route 1/Boydton Plank Rd. and drive seven miles and the track
is on the left-hand side.
WHEN: Friday through Sunday, Oct. 6-8.
PURSE: Cash and contingency awards of more than $1.6
million.
SCHEDULE: FRIDAY, Oct. 6 - Sportsman qualifying and eliminations
begin at 8:15 a.m.
Professional Qualifying Sessions at 3 and 6
p.m.
SATURDAY, Oct. 7 - Sportsman qualifying and
eliminations begin at 8:15 a.m.
Professional Qualifying Sessions at noon and
3 p.m.
SUNDAY, Oct. 8 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
Final Eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION: Saturday, Oct. 7, ESPN and ESPN2 HD will televise two
hours of qualifying highlights at 10 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Oct. 7, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will
televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 12:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Oct. 8, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will
televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE: Friday, Oct. 6, 9-9:30 p.m. (ET) - SBS 6, Transponder
16K (12092.5 MHz, Vertical)
Saturday, Oct. 7, 7:30-8 p.m. (ET) - SBS 6,
Transponder 16K (12092.5 MHz, Vertical)
Sunday, Oct. 8, 7-7:30 p.m. (ET) - SBS 6,
Transponder 16K (12092.5 MHz, Vertical)
Feeds include action with natural sound of
Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock, plus interviews with qualifying
leaders on Saturday and winners on Sunday.
2000 EVENT
WINNERS: Larry Dixon, Top Fuel; John Force, Funny Car; Jeg
Coughlin, Pro Stock.
TRACK Top Fuel - 4.494 seconds by Gary Scelzi, April
1999; 321.12 mph by Scelzi, April 1999
RECORDS: Funny Car - 4.887 seconds by John Force, April 1998;
310.66 mph by Force, April 1998
Pro Stock - 6.840 seconds by Kurt Johnson,
April 1999; 202.24 mph by Warren Johnson, April 1999
NATIONAL Top Fuel - 4.437 sec. (Sept. '05, Joliet, Ill.) and
336.15 mph (May '05, Columbus, Ohio) by Tony Schumacher.
RECORDS: Funny Car - 4.665 sec. (Oct. '04, Joliet, Ill.) and
333.58 mph (Oct. '04, Joliet, Ill.) by John Force.
Pro Stock - 6.631 sec. (July '06, Sonoma,
Calif.) and 208.23 mph (March '05, Gainesville, Fla.) by Greg Anderson.
TICKETS: For tickets call Virginia Motorsports Park, (804)
862-3174. Tickets also available at ticketmaster.com.
GENERAL ADMISSION (includes pit pass) - Friday: Adult, $30; Junior (6-12
years), $10. Saturday: Adult, $40; Junior (6-12 years), $10. Sunday:
Adult, $45; Junior (6-12 years) $10; Child (5 years and under), free
with paying adult in general admission and pit areas each day.
RESERVED SEATS (includes pit pass) - Friday: Adult, $40; Junior (6-12),
$18; Child (5 years and younger), $8. Saturday: Adult, $50; Junior (6-12
years), $20; Child (5 years and under), $10. Sunday: Adult, $55; Junior
(6-12 years), $25; Child (5 years and under), $15.
CONTACT: NHRA Communications Department, (626) 914-4761.
Michael Padian, ext. 217 (626-278-0312, cell).
***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael Padian, (626) 250-2217
TIGHT POINTS RACES WILL GIVE VIRGINIANS A SNEAK PEAK AT THE COUNTDOWN TO
THE CHAMPIONSHIP
EXCITING, MULTI-TEAM CLASHES PROVIDE THE DRAMA IN POWERADE SERIES
GLENDORA, Calif. (Oct. 2, 2006) - Apparently the drivers in the NHRA
POWERade Series couldn't wait for the Countdown to the Championship
playoff-format that was announced at the U.S. Nationals and will debut
in 2007.
Sensing the all-or-nothing drama that lies ahead in 2007, the NHRA
POWERade Series drivers, most notably those in Top Fuel and Funny Car,
have laid the groundwork for an intense, playoff-like countdown to this
year's championship, which will culminate Sunday, Nov. 12 at Pomona.
Given the current system, this year's points races are about as deep
and competitive as would be conceivably possible, and Virginians will
get a firsthand look as the NHRA POWERade Series returns to Richmond for
the first time since 2000 with the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals,
Oct. 6-8 at Virginia Motorsports Park. The $1.5 million race is the 21st
of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
The NHRA POWERade Series has historically all but crowned its
champions on Labor Day - 83 percent of the points leaders after Indy
have gone on to win championships - with the final quarter of the season
turning in many cases into a victory tour.
But the days of the NHRA victory tour are numbered, if not already a
thing of the past.
The drivers exiting Indy with the points lead in 2006 - Doug Kalitta
(Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) - may well
hoist the championship trophy, but the road to Pomona will be anything
but a victory tour for them and their respective teams.
And that is particularly true in the nitro classes where the list of
contending drivers grew by 50 percent after Indy with the results at the
O'Reilly Fall Nationals in Dallas and the Toyo Tires Nationals in
Reading.
What appeared to be two-team races in the NHRA POWERade Series nitro
classes turned into three-team races as Brandon Bernstein (Top Fuel) and
Robert Hight (Funny Car) inserted themselves into championship
contention rather emphatically with impressive wins at the O'Reilly Fall
Nationals.
"I know no one in the media has asked me about (competing for the
POWERade Series championship)," said Bernstein, who now has four wins
and a category-best seven final rounds. "But within the (Budweiser/Lucas
Oil) team, I kept telling the guys we just needed to stay consistent and
keep plugging away. Now I think everyone knows what we already knew: We
have a race car that can win the (POWERade Series) championship."
It was Hight's second consecutive win and he almost made it three in
a row at Reading but he was stopped in the final there by Phil Burkart.
Hight enters the final three events just 35 points back of father-in-law
and NHRA icon John Force, who is back in first place; Ron Capps is in
second place and trails Force by a point.
Each round achieved in Sunday final eliminations is worth 20 points
with a minimum of 20 going to first-round losers and a maximum of 100
going to the winner.
Here are the top contenders with four races remaining (Reading Sept.
29-Oct. 1, Richmond Oct. 6-8, Las Vegas 2 Oct. 26-29 and Pomona 2 Nov.
9-12):
TOP FUEL
Points
1. Doug Kalitta, Ann Arbor, Mich., Mac Tools dragster (5 wins)
1,440
2. Tony Schumacher, Long Grove, Ill., U.S. Army dragster (3)
1,388 (-52)
3. Brandon Bernstein, Lake Forest, Calif., Budweiser/Lucas Oil
dragster (4) 1,378 (-62)
FUNNY CAR
1. John Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang
(2) 1,387
2. Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., Brut Dodge Charger R/T (5)
1,386 (-1)
3. Robert Hight, Anaheim Hills, Calif., Auto Club of So. Calif.
Ford Mustang (3) 1,352 (-35)
PRO STOCK
1. Jason Line, Terrell, N.C., Summit Racing Pontiac GTO (3)
1,453
2. Greg Anderson, Charlotte, N.C., Summit Racing Pontiac GTO
(2) 1,397 (-56)
Bernstein really helped his own cause immensely with a second-round
win over Kalitta at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals. The round-win not only
propelled Bernstein on to his eventual victory, but just as important it
kept Kalitta from gaining any more points. Had he lost to Kalitta, there
could have been a 120 point swing in the standings and Bernstein would
have been all but eliminated.
The son of six-time POWERade Series champion Kenny Bernstein has
flown under the radar most of the season, but he won't be able to sneak
up on anyone anymore as he, like Kalitta, seeks his first POWERade
Series championship. Schumacher, meanwhile, has won the last two
championships and three overall.
Hight, the 2005 Auto Club Road to the Future winner, will no longer
be able to play possum either as his back-to-back wins have launched him
from afterthought (he was in fifth place, 219 points back of Capps) to
legitimate title contender. No sophomore jinx here.
Capps and Hight are looking for their first POWERade Series
championships while Force, winner of four of the six previous NHRA
events in Richmond, has won an NHRA-record 13 POWERade Series
championships.
The Pro Stock class is a bit more clear with teammates Jason Line
and Greg Anderson setting the pace in their Summit Racing Pontiac GTOs.
The only surprise is that it's Line and not Anderson, the latter of whom
has won the last three Pro Stock championships, leading the way.
Also of note in the Pro Stock class is the return of two-time
POWERade Series world champion Jeg Coughlin. The popular Ohioan will be
returning to action for the first time in almost a year, driving the
Slammer's Milk Chevy Cobalt for Victor Cagnazzi.
Coughlin won the last NHRA Pro Stock race in Richmond, back in 2000.
Before that, the track had been dominated by the second-winningest
driver in NHRA history, Warren Johnson (96 wins), who like Force has won
four of the six NHRA events held in Richmond.
SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 6
p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6. Qualifying continues at noon and 3 p.m. on
Saturday, Oct. 7 and final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct.
8.
TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA
Nationals. Call Virginia Motorsports Park at (804) 862-3174 for ticket
information, or check online at ticketmaster.com.
ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying of
the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at 10 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Oct.
7. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news
magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, Oct. 8. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD
will televise three hours of final eliminations beginning at 7 p.m. (ET)
on Sunday, Oct. 8.
ON THE WEB: Quick access to NHRA media relations department press
releases, electronic images and other information is available on the
Internet at media.nhra.com.
***
POWERade SERIES point standings
Top Fuel
1. Doug Kalitta, 1,440; 2. Tony Schumacher, 1,388; 3. Brandon Bernstein,
1,378; 4. Melanie Troxel, 1,290; 5. David Grubnic, 1,167; 6. Rod Fuller,
1,163; 7. Larry Dixon, 1,012; 8. Morgan Lucas, 947; 9. Hillary Will,
917; 10. J.R. Todd, 879.
Funny Car
1. John Force, 1,387; 2. Ron Capps, 1,386; 3. Robert Hight, 1,352; 4.
Tony Pedregon, 1,241; 5. Eric Medlen, 1,179; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr.,
1,143; 7. Gary Scelzi, 1,108; 8. Whit Bazemore, 956; 9. Phil Burkart,
899; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 844.
Pro Stock
1. Jason Line, 1,453; 2. Greg Anderson, 1,397; 3. Dave Connolly, 1,270;
4. Kurt Johnson, 1,131; 5. Mike Edwards, 1,128; 6. Allen Johnson, 1,073;
7. Jim Yates, 1,003; 8. Greg Stanfield, 972; 9. V. Gaines, 916; 10.
Larry Morgan, 908.
