NHRA Newsmakers: December 4, 2006
NHRA Newsmakers Your inside glimpse at the world's fastest motorsport NEWS NUGGETS * SCHUMACHER WINS FOURTH QUARTER DRIVER OF THE YEAR: NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher, who made the greatest comeback in NHRA history to win his third consecutive and fourth overall NHRA POWERade Series world championship, was named the fourth quarter winner of the prestigious Driver of the Year award. Schumacher, who won the final race of the season with a national record time of 4.428 seconds to complete a 12-race, 336 point comeback and defeat Doug Kalitta for the season championship by 14 points, received 11 of 16 first place votes from an elite panel of motorsports journalists who decide the Driver of the Year. Others who received first place votes included Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart of NASCAR. The season's other Driver of the Year quarterly winners included Melanie Troxel, NHRA Top Fuel, first quarter; Sebastian Bourdais, Champ Car, second quarter; and Sam Hornish Jr., Indy Racing League, third quarter. * FORCE AND SCHUMACHER NOMINEES FOR ECONOMAKI CHAMPIONS AWARD: NHRA world champs John Force (Funny Car) and Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) are among 10 drivers nominated for the fourth annual Economaki Champion of Champions Award. Schumacher was the 2005 recipient of the award. Other nominees are Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR); Sam Hornish Jr. (Indy Racing League); Kevin Harvick (NASCAR); Sebastian Bourdais (Champ Car); Donny Schatz (World of Outlaws); Josh Wise (USAC); Tim McCreadie (World of Outlaws late model series); Jorg Bergmseister (Grand Am). The winner will be announced by National Speed Sport News publisher emeritus Chris Economaki Dec. 14 at the Performance Racing Industry show in Orlando, Fla. * SCHUMACHER CANDIDATE FOR SPEED PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher was named one of six finalists for the inaugural Speed Performer of the Year, it was announced today. Schumacher joins Fernando Alonso (Formula One); Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR); Nicky Hayden (MotoGP); Sebastian Bourdais (Champ Car) and Sam Hornish Jr. (Indy Racing League) as the nominees. The winner will be announced in February on the Speed Channel as part of a one-hour Speed Performance Awards television special. Speed on-air personalities Bob Varsha, Dave Despain, Tommy Kendall, Ralph Sheheen and Dorsey Schroeder, along with Speedtv.com columnists Robin Miller and Tom Jensen, led a panel of voters who submitted nominations. The winner will receive the Mario Andretti Trophy. * WILL TO ADDRESS STUDENTS AT NAIAS IN DETROIT: NHRA Top Fuel driver Hillary Will, who drives the KB Racing dragster, is scheduled to address thousands of students from various high schools throughout southern Michigan, surrounding states and Canada on Jan. 17 during the 2007 North American International Auto Show Automotive Education Day. Students attending the third annual NAIAS Automotive Education Day at Cobo Arena in Detroit will have the opportunity to talk with Will and get her autograph as she discusses career opportunities available in the automotive/motorsports arena. More information about this event can be found at http://www.naias.com. INSIDE THE NUMBERS * 13: With his move to Top Fuel in 2007, Whit Bazemore will have the opportunity to join one of NHRA's most exclusive clubs. In the history of the sport, only 13 drivers have earned victories in both NHRA nitro categories. That distinguished list includes: Don "The Snake" Prudhomme; Mark Oswald; Gene Snow; Frank Hawley; Kenny Bernstein; Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen; Ed "The Ace" McCulloch; Mike Dunn; Scott Kalitta; Jim Head; Ron Capps; Tommy Johnson Jr.; and Gary Scelzi. Of the 13, eight of the drivers won in Funny Car before moving on to Top Fuel. Prudhomme, Oswald, Capps, Johnson and Scelzi were the drivers to win in Top Fuel before moving to Funny Car. COMING ATTRACTIONS ******** NITRO BLAST OFF, LAS VEGAS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, JAN. 19-21: The elite teams of the NHRA POWERade Series will have the first opportunity to begin preparing for the 2007 season at this first of three optional showcase pre-season test sessions. Media are invited. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information. ******* NATIONAL TIME TRIALS, PHOENIX, FIREBIRD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, JAN. 26-28: Pre-season action moves from Nevada to Arizona as the professional teams continue to tweak off-season changes at this second of three optional test sessions. Open to media. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information. ******* LAST CHANCE TEST SESSION, LAS VEGAS, THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, FEB. 2-4: This aptly named test session is the final of three optional events that allow professional drivers the chance to test their rides before the 2007 NHRA POWERade Series Countdown to the Championship gets underway. Open to media. Please contact NHRA Media Relations at (626) 914-4761 for more information. ******* CARQUEST AUTO PARTS NHRA WINTERNATIONALS, POMONA, CALIF., AUTO CLUB RACEWAY AT POMONA, FEB. 8-11: Get a front seat as defending world champs Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) begin the 2007 NHRA POWERade Series Countdown to the Championship. DRIVERS TELL ALL * BAZEMORE WILL MISS FORCE THE MOST: Whit Bazemore, who spent 18 years behind the wheel of a Funny Car, will make the transition to a Top Fuel dragster in 2007. While he'll have the opportunity to begin new rivalries with four-time champ Tony Schumacher, Brandon Bernstein and Doug Kalitta, he'll be leaving behind the most intense rivalry of his career. He recently told NHRA.com what he would miss most from his Funny Car days: his frequent duels with 14-time champ John Force. "I'll miss racing him the most," Bazemore said. "I have a lot of respect for John. He's the champ, and that team is awesome. They have been for a long time, pretty much ever since I've been around. But when we're on the racetrack, it's my job to beat him. I think it's comical the way guys try to buddy up to him now. I never did that. We became friends out of mutual respect. "I always stood up to the guy, and I think that's what earned his respect. It crushes me that he got the better of me this year (5-1 record) because that might have been it for us racing one another. I know I drove the best I could against him every time. It just didn't work out for us this year. I'll go out knowing he never took us lightly, and that's enough for me."