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Good Chance ATSCO Nationals Winners Will be 1998 NHRA Winston Champions

10 February 1998

PHOENIX -- Whoever wins the ATSCO Nationals, will win NHRA Winston championships. At least, that's what has happened the last two years.

In 1996 and 1997, Phoenix was the only race where all three eventual champions won. Gary Scelzi in Top Fuel, John Force in Funny Car and Jim Yates in Pro Stock return to Firebird International Raceway as defending race winners and defending NHRA Winston champions.

The $1,549,310 ATSCO Nationals, Feb. 19-22, is the second race of the 22-event, $30-million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series in 1998.

Arizona will rumble and rattle when 6,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars cover the quarter-mile track in less than five seconds and reach speeds of over 320 mph. The nitromethane-powered vehicles accelerate from 0 to 100 mph in less than one second.

Scelzi, from Fresno, Calif., made NHRA history last year by becoming the first rookie to win his first two races. At the ATSCO Nationals, he drove the Team Winston Dragster, owned and tuned by Alan Johnson, to a victory over Kenny Bernstein, from Lake Forest, Calif.

Bernstein, who has had a history of performing well at Firebird International Raceway, will be one of Scelzi's biggest challengers. He has won here twice--in 1991 and 1996--and has made it to the finals the last two years. In addition, Bernstein tested well at Firebird in mid-January, making a 320.20-mph pass.

Joe Amato and Cory McClenathan could also prove to be formidable opponents. Sixteen-year veteran Amato, from Exeter, Pa., will drive the Tenneco Automotive Dragster this season in seeking a record sixth Top Fuel title. Amato's final pass of 1997 was the quickest in NHRA history and capped a five-win season.

McClenathan, from Anaheim, Calif., had six wins last year in the McDonald's Dragster. He also was the first NHRA driver to break the 320 mph mark, a feat he accomplished at the Revell Nationals (Dallas) in October.

Larry Dixon, driver of the Miller Lite dragster, will be looking for his second straight win after opening with a victory at the Chief Auto Parts Winternationals.

Force has also been very successful at Firebird International Raceway in the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, winning here the past four years (1994-97) and finishing runner-up in 1991. Force, from Yorba Linda, Calif., is seeking his eighth Winston championship in Funny Car and sixth in a row. Ron Capps, winner of the season-opener at Pomona, Calif., and Force teammate Tony Pedregon are also considered Funny Car favorites.

Yates dominated the Pro Stock field in 1997, plain and simple. In 1997, Yates led all NHRA professional drivers in wins (nine), final rounds (12), points (1,963) and elimination round wins (58). In addition, he was the No. 1 qualifier nine times.

Yates, from Alexandria, Va., will drive the Splitfire/Peak Pontiac Firebird and try to add a second win to his 1998 resume. Yates defeated young Jeg Couglin, Jr. at the Winternationals.