NHRA NEWS: POMONA ADVANCE PACKAGE
AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NHRA FINALS
WHAT: 42nd annual Automobile Club of Southern California
NHRA Finals, the final of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing Series. Professional competitors in four 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: Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Pomona, Calif.. Track is
located off I-10 at Fairplex Drive. Go north on Fairplex drive.
WHEN: Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 9-12.
PURSE: Cash and contingency awards of approximately $1.7
million.
SCHEDULE: THURSDAY, Nov. 9 -- Sportsman qualifying and time trials
begin at 8:15 a.m.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 1:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, Nov. 10 -- Sportsman qualifying and eliminations begin at 8:15
a.m.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 1:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Nov. 11 -- Sportsman eliminations
begin at 8:15 a.m.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, Nov. 12 -- Pre-race ceremonies begin at 10 a.m.
FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION: Saturday, Nov. 11, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two
hours of qualifying coverage at 10 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will
televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will
broadcast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 12:30 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE: Friday, Nov. 10, 8-8:30 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 10 R /
Transponder 23 K (12160 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, Nov. 12 (Saturday late night), 12:30-1 a.m. (ET) -
Galaxy 10 R / Transponder 23 K (12160 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, Nov. 12, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 10 R /
Transponder 23 K (12160 MHz, vertical)
2005 EVENT
WINNERS: Tony Schumacher, Top Fuel; Tony Pedregon, Funny Car;
Jeg Coughlin, Pro Stock; Ryan Schnitz, Pro Stock Motorcycle.
TRACK Top Fuel - 4.447 seconds by Tony Schumacher, Feb.
2005; 334.65 mph by Schumacher, Feb. 2005
RECORDS: Funny Car-- 4.664 seconds by John Force, Feb. 2006;
332.51 mph by Gary Scelzi, Feb. 2006
Pro Stock-- 6.665 seconds and 207.75 mph by
Greg Anderson, Feb. 2006
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 7.000 seconds by Matt
Smith, Nov. 2005; 194.66 mph by GT Tonglet, Nov. 2004
NATIONAL Top Fuel -- 4.437 sec (Sept. '05, Joliet, Ill.);
336.15 mph (May '05, Hebron, 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 -- 6.558 sec. (Oct. '06, Richmond,
Va.); 209.75 mph (Oct. '06, Richmond, Va.) by by Jason Line.
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.939 sec. (Oct. '06,
Mohnton, Pa.) by Angelle Sampey; 197.45 mph (March '05, Gainesville,
Fla.) by Andrew Hines.
TICKETS: For tickets call (800) 884-NHRA (6472). Tickets also
available online at ticketmaster.com or at nhra.com.
GENERAL ADMISSION (includes pit pass) - Thursday: Adult, $22; Junior
(6-12 years), $10. Friday: Adult, $29; Junior (6-12 years), $10.
Saturday: Adult, $49; Junior (6-12 years), $10. Sunday: Adult, $50;
Junior (6-12 years) $12. Children (5 years & under), admitted free in
general admission and pit access areas each day.
RESERVED SEATS (includes pit pass) - Friday: Adult, $39; Junior (6-12
years), $20; Child (5 years & under), $10. Saturday: Adult, $59; Junior
(6-12 years), $22; Child (5 years & under), $12. Sunday: Adult, $62;
Junior (6-12 years), $24; Child (5 years & under), $14.
INTERNET: For more information about NHRA, please check
http://media.nhra.com <http://media.nhra.com/> .
CONTACT: NHRA Communications, (626) 914-4761
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: NHRA Communications, (626) 914-4761
FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR, POINTS RACES TAKE CENTER STAGE
AT SEASON-ENDING AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NHRA FINALS
SCHUMACHER TRYING TO COMPLETE GREATEST COMEBACK IN NHRA POWERade SERIES
HISTORY; UNDERDOG CAPPS STILL ALIVE AGAINST 13-TIME WORLD CHAMPION FORCE
GLENDORA, Calif. - As riveting as the points races are coming into the
2006 NHRA POWERade Series finale, the Auto Club of Southern California
NHRA Finals Nov. 9-12 at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, the storylines may
be even more compelling.
In Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher was all but a forgotten man midway through
the 2006 season, but the three-time and defending POWERade Series
champion's U.S. Army team rallied and with his win last weekend at Las
Vegas he is only 45 points away from completing the greatest comeback in
NHRA POWERade Series history. He once trailed by as many as 336 points
after the 10th of the 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Series.
Standing between Schumacher and the history books is the ultra-talented
Doug Kalitta, driver of the Mac Tools dragster. Kalitta's 29 career wins
place him sixth all-time in Top Fuel and make him the winningest driver
in NHRA Top Fuel history to have never won a championship. He has
finished second twice, in 2003 and 2004.
In Funny Car, you have underdog Ron Capps, who is the personification of
the pre-World Series Red Sox. He piles up wins (five this year, 22 for
his career), consistently competes for championships (five top-5
finishes), but has yet to win one. He has finished second three times,
including by just eight excruciating points in 2005, and he's back in
the mix once again in 2006.
Capps, the winningest Funny Car driver to have never won a POWERade
world championship, was the points leader for 17 of the first 19 events,
but he now finds himself 71 points back of the NHRA's all-time
winningest driver, John Force. Assuming each qualifies at Pomona, for
Capps to win his first title he would have to win the race with Force
being eliminated in the first round.
"We're going to go to Pomona and we're going to stand on the gas and
we're going to try to win the race," said Capps, who drives the Brut
Dodge Charger R/T for crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch.
To carry on the Red Sox analogy, Capps's situation is not at all unlike
when the Red Sox were hanging on by a mere thread in the 2004 ALCS,
trailing 3-0 in the best-of-7 series against the nemesis Yankees, before
pulling off the unthinkable en route to their first championship in
nearly a century.
"It's been a fun year," Capps said. "It's not over yet. We can still win
this thing. Unless they tell us mathematically we're out of it, we're
going to go to Pomona and we're going to try to win and see what Force
does."
"Pomona is going to be outstanding. The weather will be good, we know
the track is awesome, so it's going to be another great weekend," Capps
said.
Last year at Pomona, the tightest Funny Car race in NHRA POWERade Series
history culminated in the second round when the top three drivers - Gary
Scelzi, Ron Capps and John Force - were all eliminated. That left
Scelzi, the man who came to Pomona with the lead, as the 2005 POWERade
Series Funny Car champ.
The driver coming to Pomona with the lead this year is Force and it's a
lead the NHRA icon and star of A&E's Driving Force won't easily
relinquish. He has to qualify and go at least one round, which he's done
successfully at 18 of 22 events this season, to clinch his record 14th
POWERade Series Funny Car world championship.
Not to be overlooked in Funny Car is Force's son-in-law Robert Hight,
who drives the AAA Ford Mustang. Hight was in fifth place, 229 points
out of first place, after the 17th event at Memphis, but back-to-back
wins at Indy and Dallas and a runner-up at Reading got him back in the
race. He enters Pomona 73 points back of Force, needing the same
scenario as Capps (win the race and have Force eliminated first round)
to claim his first championship.
"First off, I'm really excited to be here with ... a chance to win this
POWERade Series championship," said Hight, who has a Funny Car-leading
nine No. 1 qualifiers. "We were kind of written off going into the
Western Swing. It looked like it was going to be a two-car race with
Ron and John. We kind of held our own through the Western Swing, then
have come on really, really strong."
Capps and Hight are looking for their first POWERade Series
championships while Force has won an NHRA-record 13 POWERade Series
championships.
In Pro Stock Jason Line clinched his first POWERade Series championship
in Las Vegas and in Pro Stock Motorcycle it's come down to two-time
defending champ Andrew Hines and his Screamin' Eagle Vance-Hines
Harley-Davidson against Antron Brown's U.S. Army Suzuki. Hines won at
Las Vegas to erase a 27-point deficit and take a 37-point lead into the
final race at Pomona.
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 is a quick look at the remaining contenders heading
into Pomona:
TOP FUEL
Points
1. Doug Kalitta, Ann Arbor, Mich., Mac Tools dragster (5 wins)
1,589
2. Tony Schumacher, Long Grove, Ill., U.S. Army dragster (4)
1,544 (-45)
FUNNY CAR
1. John Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang (2)
1,520
2. Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., Brut Dodge Charger R/T (5)
1,449 (-71)
3. Robert Hight, Anaheim Hills, Calif., Auto Club of So. Calif.
Ford Mustang (3) 1,447 (-73)
PRO STOCK
1. Jason Line, Terrell, N.C., Summit Racing Pontiac GTO (4)
1,689*
2. Greg Anderson, Charlotte, N.C., Summit Racing Pontiac GTO (2)
1,547 (-142)
* Clinched 2006 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock world champion
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
1. Andrew Hines, Indy, Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson (3) 1,061
2. Antron Brown, Indianapolis, U.S. Army Suzuki (2)
1,024 (-37)
SCHEDULE: Single Pro qualifying sessions at the Auto Club NHRA Finals
are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9 and Friday, Nov. 10. The
final two qualifying sessions will be run at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on
Saturday, Nov. 11 and final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Nov. 12.
TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Call Auto
Club Raceway at (800) 884-NHRA (6472) or check online at
ticketmaster.com.
ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying of the
Auto Club NHRA Finals at 10 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Nov. 11. ESPN2 and
ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show,
at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Nov. 12. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise
three hours of final eliminations beginning at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday,
Nov. 12.
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.
2006 NHRA POWERADE POINT STANDINGS
(Following 22 of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERADE Drag Racing
Series)
UPDATED 10/29/2006 (Victories in parentheses)
TOP FUEL
Place Driver
Points
1. Doug Kalitta, Ann Arbor, Mich., Mac Tools dragster (5)
1,589
2. Tony Schumacher, Long Grove, Ill., U.S. Army dragster (4)
1,544
3. Brandon Bernstein, Lake Forest, Calif., Budweiser/Lucas Oil
dragster (4) 1,489
4. Melanie Troxel, Avon, Ind., Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels
dragster (2) 1,376
5. Rod Fuller, Las Vegas, David Powers Homes/Valvoline dragster
(2) 1,331
6. Dave Grubnic, Ennis, Mont., StriVectin-SD dragster (1)
1,251
7. Larry Dixon, Indianapolis, Miller Lite dragster
1,097
8. J.R. Todd, Avon, Ind., Skull Shine dragster (3)
1,052
9. Cory McClenathan, Anaheim, Calif., FRAM Boost dragster (1)
1,004
10. Hillary Will, Ypsilanti, Mich., KB Racing dragster
1,003
FUNNY CAR
1. John Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang (2)
1,520
2. Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., Brut Dodge Charger R/T (5)
1,449
3. Robert Hight, Anaheim Hills, Calif., Auto Club of So. Calif.
Ford Mustang (3) 1,447
4. Eric Medlen, Indianapolis, Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang (2)
1,373
5. Tony Pedregon, Chino Hills, Calif., Q Racing Chevrolet Monte
Carlo (3) 1,318
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Avon, Ind., Skoal Racing Chevrolet Monte
Carlo (2) 1,269
7. Gary Scelzi, Fresno, Calif., Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger (1)
1,172
8. Phil Burkart, Yorkville, N.Y., Checker Schuck's Kragen
Chevrolet Monte Carlo (1) 962
9. Whit Bazemore, Indianapolis, Matco Tools Dodge Charger (1)
956
10. Cruz Pedregon, Santa Rosa Valley, Calif., Advance Auto Parts Monte
Carlo (1) 946
PRO STOCK
1. Jason Line, Terrell, N.C., Summit Racing Pontiac GTO (4)
1,689
2. Greg Anderson, Charlotte, N.C., Summit Racing Pontiac GTO
(3) 1,547
3. Dave Connolly, Elyria, Ohio, Skull Gear Chevrolet Cobalt (4)
1,399
4. Mike Edwards, Coweta, Okla., Young Life Pontiac GTO (2)
1,211
5. Kurt Johnson, Sugar Hill, Ga., ACDelco Chevrolet Cobalt (3)
1,195
6. Allen Johnson, Greeneville, Tenn., J&J Racing/Team Mopar
Dodge Stratus R/T (1) 1,142
7. Jim Yates, Alexandria, Va., SeaRay Boats Pontiac GTO (1)
1,084
8. Greg Stanfield, Bossier City, La., PiranaZ Pontiac GTO
1,042
9. Richie Stevens, New Orleans, Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T (2)
1,037
10. Larry Morgan, Newark, Ohio, zMax Micro Lubricants Dodge Stratus
R/T 1,011
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
(Following 14 of 15 events)
1. Andrew Hines, Indianapolis, Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson
(3) 1,061
2. Antron Brown, Indianapolis, U.S. Army Suzuki (2)
1,024
3. Angelle Sampey, New Orleans, U.S. Army Suzuki (3)
963
4. Chip Ellis, Americus, Ga., Drag Specialties S&S Buell V-Twin
(2) 858
5. Matt Smith, King, N.C., Torco/Skull Gear S&S Buell V-Twin
(2) 786
6. Karen Stoffer, Minden, Nev., Geico Motorcycle Suzuki (1)
783
7. Ryan Schnitz, Decatur, Ind., Trim-Tex Drywall Products Buell
V-Twin (1) 738
8. Geno Scali, Lake in the Hills, Ill., Performance Machine
Suzuki 653
9. Tom Bradford, Eagle, Wis., Hal's Speed Shop/Flying Doc Buell
V-Twin 630
10. GT Tonglet, Metairie, La., Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson
V-Rod 602
