November 2007 Archives

8:16 a.m. - I just arrived at the track a few minutes ago. How come I'm here three hours before the first round of eliminations you ask?
Very simple, I was shooting for 9 a.m., but I forgot to reset my clock last night.
Hey, it beats getting here late.
It should be a fun day. I would also like to point out that our Saturday interview with John Force has been uploaded.
Enjoy!

10:41 a.m. - I just returned from the Don Schumacher Racing pit, where Funny Car veterans Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angelle Sampey are preparing for today's eliminations. All three addressed the team's invited guests during breakfast.
The highlight was Capps, who used several Talladega Nights" references.
"Shake and bake, baby," Capps said to Scelzi. "My crew guys are always using "Talladega NIghts" lines, even on the radio when I'm in the car."

Sampey also noticed that the ladder for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, which hangs from the team's trailer, wasn't filled out.
"As I'm looking at the ladder, here, it doesn't appear that Pro Stock Motorcycle is racing today," Sampey said. "I don't even know who I have first round, so I can't tell you who I'm going to beat. But we are going to ruin somebody's day today."
11:19 a.m. - Tony Schumacher defeats a tire-smoking Alan Bradshaw to complete a run where Brandon Bernstein, Larry Dixon and Schumacher all put pressure points-leader Rod Fuller with first-round wins.
"You have three really good cars who just won," Schumacher said. "This puts a lot of pressure (on Fuller). If you are going to be Powerade champ, you have to earn it."
Fuller's race with Bob Vandergriff is coming up.
11:25 a.m. - The championship chase just got hotter. Fuller goes up in smoke just off the line. Dixon, Bernstein and Schumacher now control their own destiny.
"This is what this sport is all about," Fuller said. "We just didnt' get it done."

11:41 a.m. - Jeff Arend keeps Scelzi's and Hight's slim title hopes alive by nipping Tony Pedregon in the first round of Funny Car.
The title is still Pedregon's to win, as Scelzi and Hight, who face each other in the next pair, still must win the race while setting a national record.
"We were hoping to end it," Pedregon said. "But that's how this Countdown is . We lost a close race, but now we sit back and enjoy (the race)."
11:44 a.m. - Scelzi goes up in smoke, ending his title hopes. The win keeps Hight's title hopes alive, although he must win the next three rounds while setting a national record.
"Anytime you run Scelzi, you don't know what can happen," Hight said. "I'm not ready for the season to end. I wan to make three more runs."
11:52 a.m. - Phil Burkart Jr., driving for the injured John Force just beat Ron Capps. Capps' was eliminated from the title chase during qualifying. But he would have been in position to win the title under the old system, where he began the day 20 points ahead of Pedregon and 65 in front of Hight.
12:10 p.m. - The Pro Stock title just went up for grabs. Leader Greg Anderson just lost to Justin Humphreys, meaning the title is Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s if he advances to the semifinals. His teammate Dave Connolly saw his title hopes go away when he left the starting line early.
"It's all on me," Connolly said. "I turned the cherry on. I blew it."
1:24 p.m - This is getting exciting. It's down to three after Schumacher and Bernstein score second-round wins, while Dixon loses to Todd.
The title is Bernstein if he can find away to beat Schumacher in the next round. The U.S. Army car, meanwhile must first block Bernstein then go on to win the race. If he doesn't, the title belongs to Fuller.
"It's pretty similar (to last year)," said Schumacher, who scored the title last year after winning the race and setting a national e.t. record on the final run of the event. "(Crew chief Alan Johnson) has a handle on it. You don't want to see (Fuller) lose that way, but you also want to win the championship, and for us, it's four in a row."
1:53 p.m. - Hight continues to stay alive in the race for the Funny Car championship, beating Jerry Toliver in the second round. But to steal the title away from Pedregon, he must win the race and set a national record. Hight needs to make a run of 4.705 or quicker to have the opportunity to eclipse the national record of 4.658.
"I just keep going," Hight said. "The later it gets, who knows? I'm liking this."
2:02 p.m. - Jeg takes the trophy.

Coughlin roars to a low 6.6 run and moves ahead of Anderson to earn his third Powerade Series title.
"Wow! I love Pomona," Coughlin said. "The Countdown to the Championship format just played out unbelievable. We couldn't be happier to be champions."
2:14 p.m. - Andrew Hines leaves the door open in the chase for the Pro Stock Motorcycle championship. He loses on a red light in the second round and now Chip Ellis and Matt Smith, who both won second-round encounters can win the championship by winning the race.
"The ball is in our court now," Ellis said. "We might win this, after all."
3:19 p.m. - Schumacher does it again.
The four-time champion puts himself in position to win No. 5 when he gets by Brandon Bernstein in the semifinals. The Powerade Series title is now his if he beats Bob Vandergriff in the final.
"There's no pieces of cake in this class," Schumacher said. "This is a blessing. It's my dad's birthday and I would love more than anything to get this win for him."
Standing in the way is Vandergriff, who advanced to his 12 final when JR Todd red-lighted off the starting line.
"This is a great opportunity for the UPS team," said Vandergriff, who is 0 for 11 in final rounds. He is 2-1 vs. Schumacher with the lone loss coming in the semifinals at Sonoma this season.
"I can't say enough about the David Powers team," added Vandergriff. "They gave us a motor for the semifinals, and we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them."
3:25 p.m. - Hight beats Mike Ashley to advance to the final, but he doesn't come close to setting a national e.t. record, clinching the title for Pedregon.

"I'm a race car driver," Pedregon said. "I' was born and raised in Southern California. I noticed that there were a lot of Hispanics, a lot of Latinos at this race. I see a lot of families, a lot Hispanics who come to me and say, 'You're the reason we here. We're cheering you on.' When a person tells you that, you're emotional. When I get into the car, I want to win a race. But to me, it's beyond that. It's not about color. Minorities are minorities. But the people who don't understood that, haven't walked a mile in our shoes.

"I don't too many people who have come from where I have. It's not about just driving a race car. It's about (disproving) that a lot of people didn't think you could do it, and today I've done it. And for me that's special."
5:22 p.m. - Matt Smith gets the jump on Chip Ellis and never looks back to win the Pro Stock Motorcycle final the the series title.
"We thought if we could win the race, that would get us second," Smith said. "Then I saw Andrew (Hines) lose. I thought, 'We could win it all.'"
5:26 p.m. - Coughlin completes his perfect day, beating Justin Humphreys in the Pro Stock Final.
"This lines up with anything I've ever done in drag racing," said Coughlin, who won the series title for the third time. "I think this one is more special, because of the (Countdown to the Championship). It feels great."

5:31 p.m. - Hight beats teammate Phil Burkart Jr. to win the event and clinch second place.
"We pushed as hard as we could in the semifinals to try and at least get the back-up for a record but we broke a couple of lifters and it was a handful just to keep it off the wall," Hight said. "It would have been close but it didn't happen. If we had won the championship it wouldn't have made this a great year.

"Winning the race didn't make it a great year. We lost our teammate [Eric Medlen] this year and nothing will make up for that. We all miss him like you can't believe. I'm gonna go home and have a little ice cream, and like Eric always said, that is sure to make you happy."

5:38 p.m. - The last drag race is another coronation for Tony Schumacher, who makes history by becoming the first driver to win four consecutive Top Fuel titles, a championship that is his after defeating La Habra native Vandergriff in the final.
"My guys are just so good in crunch time," Schumacher said. "When they absolutely have to do it, they do it. It's a blessing. It was just a stunning day."
Final comments - The critics said this the Countdown to the Championship, a pseudo playoff for NHRA drag racing would never work, that it was contrived. I don't those who were in attendance at Fairplex would agree with that.
This does work. Is it fair to competitors like Fuller and Capps, who led the points most of the season, but came away with no championship? Probably not, but who said life was fair?
"Whoever at NHRA came up with this idea, it was a great thing," Pedregon said. "I witnessed it. I probably have a few ulcers from it, but what I saw different from (winning the title in 2003) was a lot more media, a lot more excitement. But really, this sport is all about entertainment."

10:11 a.m. - I just arrived at the track and it's another beautiful day in Pomona.
Today we have two video interviews planned. We will talk to John Force and how he is doing in the recovery progress, We also have a video with Antron Brown.
I want to apologize for our lack of videos on Friday. We did the interview, but had an equipment malfunction that didn't pick up any of the audio for the interview on John Medlen and U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Antron Brown.
11:21 a.m. - I've just learned that David Powers Motorsports have called a press conference for 1:15 p.m, and a source close to the situation told me that U.S. Army rider Antron Brown is scheduled to appear. Does this mean Brown, who tested the Matco Tools dragster for Powers in Las Vegas earlier this week, will be in that car next season? I guess we we find out.
11:30 a.m. - Pro Stock entrant Kurt Johnson suffers a parachute malfunction and drives his ACDelco Chevrolet into the sand pit at the end of the track. He is OK, but his car may need some work.
"I was trucking down the track and hit the chutes," Johnson said. "I kept waiting, waiting...But I guess they were just flapping out the back end. We're going to have our work cut out for us."
11:55 a.m. - NHRA president Tom Compton honors Auto Club CEO Tom McKernan with a permanent plaque that will be placed near the skybox suites elevator.
"Drag racing really started in Southern Caliofrnia," McKernan said. "It's a great honor (to receive this award). It's a little bitter sweet, because this is the year we lost Wally (Parks, NHRA founder who died this fall). Wally was such an icon and obviously found NHRA and everything we have. It's a great honor to support him."
1:11 p.m. - "Hot" Rod Fuller, who began the day out of the 16-car field, just bumped his way into the show with a mid-4.5-second run. He moved up to the No. 8 position and will face Tony Schumacher in the first round, if the ladder stays the same.

1:20 p.m. - The American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association honors Funny Car veteran with it's Rick Mears "Good Guy" Award.
"This is such an honor, especially when you consider who has won this award," said Scelzi, the first drag racer to receive the award. "It's such an honor, a pleasure. I can't say enough."
Scelzi also told a story about how he was tutored by Roger Mears prior to running the Long Beach Grand Prix celebrity race a few years back. He was told my Mears that if they stuck together on the race track, they could race for the top two spots. But the plan backfired when Mears banged into the Scelzi earlier in the race.
"I asked Roger after (the race)," Scelzi said. "He said, 'Scelzi, you never beleive another racer on race day.'"

1:45 p.m. - David Powers Motorsports announces that Brown will drive the Matco Tools dragster next year. Brown visited the Shav Glick tMedia Center to discuss his new job.
"This goes back to growing up in New Jersey and going to the old Summer Nationals in Englishtown," Brown said. "I can remember watching Shirley Muldowney and I was at the final round where Don Garlits flipped his car. From then, I was hooked on Top Fuel drag racing. I always wanted to do it, I just never knew if I would have the shot, the chance of doing it.
"I always loved motorcycles, so I thought that would be a way of stepping my way into the sport. But I never thought I would be 31-years-old and have my chance."

2 p.m. - Photographer Raul Roa and myself visit injured John Force with several other members of the media. It was natural Force, who talked about his accident, his recovery and his thoughts of returning to action next season.
"I'll do whatever it takes (to return), said Force, who was involved in a horrific crash in late September. "I just want to be out here."
Why"
It's simple for Force, and he used NHRA founder Wally Parks and former Los Angeles Times motor sports writer Shav Glick, who both died in October, as an example.
"Why would Wally, at 94, fight through the pain and continue to come to the track? Why would Shav continue to come out after he retired?

"Because they loved it. I don't need a pay check to get me out here. I love it, like Wally, like Shav."
But Force also said that if the cars he's building for the 2008 season are not ready by the time the Winternationals rolls around in February, he will park his Funny Car stable.

"If the car's not ready, I'm going home," Force said. "It's not about all about wins. It used to be, but now when I watch my cars run down the track, I don't care if (it) wins or loses. I look to see if Ashley (Force, daughter), Robert (Hight, son-in-law) are OK. "
More of this interview will be uploaded on our website at sgvtribune.com/sports.

3:35 p.m. - Dave Connolly visits the media center after scoring the Pro Stock pole with a 6.648.
Ironically, the Ohio resident wasn't trying to get low e.t.. Instead, his team put some extra weight on the car in hopes of qualifying opposite points leader Greg Anderson, who can clinch the title if he stays with two rounds of either second-place Jeg Coughlin Jr. or Connolly.
"We were hoping to slow the car down and (qualify) seventh," Connolly said. "But it just didn't work out.
"We'll just hope the competition can beat (Anderson) and we have to do our job.
"If Greg Anderson takes the trophy, we still had a great season."
3:58 p.m. - Chino Hills' Tony Pedregon solidifies his stranglehold on the Funny Car class when Scott Kalitta smokes the tires near halftrack, which cinches Pedregon's spot in Sunday's 16-car field. Pedregon now clinch the championship if he beats top-qualifier Jeff Arend, of San Dimas, in the first round. Second-place Scelzi now must hope Pedregon loses to Arend, while the Fresno resident must win the race while setting a national e.t. record.
"I've been sweating bullets for the past month," Pedregon said. "It's dodging bullets that makes you feel real uneasy. I had a lot of faith in Dickie (Venables, crew chief). We are really happy to control our own destiny, we didnt' want to leave it up to the other guys.
"I want to bring this home to the people of Southern California. We havent' done it yet, but we're in the show, so we have a much better chance."

5:01 p.m.. - Tony Schumacher visits the media center after scoring the Top Fuel pole with a 4.508 pass at 320.58 mph.
"It's out of our hands," said Schumacher, who needs to go three rounds further than Fuller to win the championship. "I'm going to go to sleep tonight and I'll get up in the morning, and I don't even know who I race.
"The bump is a (4.58). This is no easy deal to win. We'll just get up in the morning and try to win the championship. It's still open. It's a long shot, but its still open. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen."

10:40 a.m. - I just arrived at the track. It looks like another beautiful day in Pomona. We have a very exciting day. We will have a video interview with John Medlen, a crew cheif for the John Force Racing Ford Mustang driven by Mike Neff. John will give us some of the safety features in today's funny cars.
I will also post the happenings and goings of the day.
11:15 a.m. - We head over to the John Force Racing pit and talk to crew chief John Medlen. Medlen came us some insightful thoughts of safety features he helped implement on the modern funny car. I won't give away what he said, but our video will up sometime tonight.

12:30 p.m. - Top Fuel drivers Morgan Lucas and JR Todd visit the Shav Glick Media Center to announce that Todd will compete under the Lucas Racing team banner, beginning in 2008, and that both young guns will also drive for B&M Racing in the Baja 1000 in less than two weeks.
"(Sponsor Evan Knoll) came to me a couple of weeks ago and told me we had a couple of options," Todd said. "I think this is really the best option I had and this is where I was really pushing to go for.
"I think this is a situation where we can both help each other. I know (Morgan's) first win is around the corner, and I think we both can be in the countdown to eight."

In the meantime, the duo will have an interesting winter vacation when they compete in the Baja 1000 with veteran drivers John Spar and Ed Hullinger.
"Originially, John talked to Larry Dixon," Lucas said. "We have to say thank you to Larry, because if it wasn't for Larry, we wouldn't be able to do this. It's kind of cool to race in a race you watched on TV since you were a kid. To me, it's an honor. It's going to be a lot of fun, but at the same time, the experience is something you can't measure."
2:49 p.m. - Top Fuel points leader Rod Fuller just smoked the tires, and will go into Saturday's qualifying sessions out of the 16-car field. He is currently No. 18 after making a 4.64 pass on Thursday. Fuller, who won last weekend's ACDelco Nationals in Las Vegas, came to this race with a comfortable 52-point advantage.
"We know the car is good," Fuller told track announcer Alan Reinhart. "We just have some malfunctions. This Caterpillar team have rode to the occasion all year. We'll be ready (Saturday)."

3:01 p.m. - Richie Stevens, who is No. 1 in Pro Stock with a 6.665, visits to the media center. Stevens talked about playing a spoiler's role to the Countdown to One entrants.
"It's to kind of play the spoiler," Stevens said. "But basically, we're all out here to win and we want to do whatever it takes to win."

3:26 p.m. - Rod Fuller visits the media center and gives his feelings about being out of the field after two qualifying runs.
"I'm upbeat," Fuller said. "I have a lot of confidence in my team. Everybody asks me if I'm panicking, and no, I'm not. Honestly, our car is a great car, and if we can't make a good solid run on four runs, we don't deserve to get in (to the field), and if means not winning the championship, we don't deserve to win the championship.
"I just told my guys, 'This is over, now lets go get 'em tomorrow."
Fuller has been in this position before. He was out of the show after two runs at Sonoma in July and wound up qualifying third. He hopes to make a similar effort Saturday.
"I believe we're going to make a great run tomorrow afternoon and get this thing in the field and then tomorrow night put this thing in the top of the field," Fuller said. "That's what champions are made of.
"What's upset me all weekend is that people think we have this thing in the bag. We don't have this in the bag. It's not a given. This is Top Fuel racing. From top to bottom, there's a lot of great racers. It's not like I'm going to qualify and go two rounds. I have nothing wrapped up, and as you can see, this is a prime example."
3:39 p.m. - Winternationals winner JR Todd visits the media center after staying atop the Top Fuel field with 4.521-second pass he made Thursday. He slowed to a 6.907 run Friday.
"I think we went up there and were a little aggressive," Todd said. "Plus, the track's not as good as it was yesterday. I didn't think that 4.52 would hold up, but it just shows how well we ran (Thursday)."

4:20 p.m. - Jeff Arend, who stayed atop the Funny Car charts with the 4.781 he ran Thursday, visits the media center.
But rather than talk about the sub-par 8.678 pass he made today, the Canadian-born Arend talked about his mother Sylvie Arend. The Paris native is in attendance this weekend experiencing her first Powerade Series event.
"She was pretty impressed," said Arend, whose mother last saw him race when he was 16. "Of course she had no idea what the facility would be like. It was a lot different than she expected. Of course, our sport has come along way in the past 20 years, so to the outsider, this looks really professional.
"I live nearby (in San Dimas) and she comes here for Christmas every year, so I said, 'Why don't you come early and watch me race.' I'm not getting any younger, so it was probably a good time."

Interview with Angelle Sampey, who set a new track record at 6.973 seconds.

Check out all the action in the pits and watch how mechanics put together engines that win championships.

Take a tour with Tony Pedregon

10:30 a.m. - I just arrived at the track, and it's a beautiful day in SoCal. It might not be the best weather conditions from a performance standpoint, but the fans can't complain.
I posted my view from the Shav Glick Media Center, which is located on the lower level of the tower.

Well, we have an interesting day planned. We will be shooting a video of a day in the pits, which will feature the Tony Pedregon Racing team and as well as some video from the pits. We will also have some interviews from the top qualifiers in the pro categories.

11:15 - We hang out in the John Force pit area where John Medlen, the crew chief for the Ford Mustang Funny Car driven by rookie Mike Neff, accepts the Mike Aiello Award.
That's competitor Jack Beckman presenting the award to Medlen. The award honors a personality in drag racing who has succeeded through trying times. Medlen, who has been at John Force Racing since the early 1990s, showed tremendous courage this season, deciding to continue in the sport, and implementing several new safety features after losing his son, Eric Medlen, who died in a testing crash in March.

12:10 p.m. - We head over to the Tony Pedregon Racing pit. Pedregon, who won the 2003 Powerade Series Funny Car title while driving for John Force, is expected to clinch the 2007 title this weekend.

Here's a shot as the Q Racing team preps the car for today's qualifying session. Pedregon, who can all but wrap up the title by making the 16-car field, is seventh after Thursday's session with a 4.864-second run at 311.56 mph.

2:10 - Angelle Sampey visits the media center to talk about her run down the Pomona quartermile. The three-time champion is top qualifier after the first session. Sampey scored a 6.973 run at 188.94 mph on Thursday.
"Actually, I didn't think I went that fast, only because it went so smooth," Sampey said. "It went real straight. We've been having some trouble with my bike all year long. The last couple of races we've been getting a good handle on it.
"For me personally, I hope we can hang on to (the top spot), because we're in the middle of trying to find me a job, a sponsor for next year, so anything positive we can get out of this weekend will help us, and No. 1 qualifier is a good start."

2:50 - Jeg Coughlin Jr., who is in the running for the Pro Stock title, steps up to the plate and gains the provisional pole with a 6.689 at 206.95. It's been a big 24 hours for Coughlin, who said in the media center that his foursome finished second at the Eric Medlen Memorial Tournament at nearby Mountain Meadows Golf Course.
"Our foursome shot a 58," Coughlin said of the best-ball tourney. "The weather was beautiful out there. It was nice to play golf and benefit our (favorite charity)."
As for the run, Coughlin was pleased with his top-qualifying run. He also said he hasn't given up his title quest, although he must advance two rounds further than points leader Greg Anderson to win the championship.
"There's still a lot of racing left," Coughlin said. "Pomona's a unique situation where we run once Thursday, once Friday and twice on Saturday. It's great for us to us right now, but we're going study it close and put our best effort forward."

3:35 - San Dimas' Jeff Arend visits the media center after scoring the provisional pole with a 4.781 run at 324.90. This is Arend's final race in the blue CSK car. The team announced earlier this season that it will field just one entry next season.
"We want to do the best we can here this weekend," Arend said. "I live in San Dimas now, so this is my home track. Everybody is real sad that the blue team is leaving, so there's nothing better than to leave on a high note. We're going to try our best to do that."
Arend was also asked what his day job is.
"This," he said. "I guess that means I'd better start looking for another one soon."

4:25 - JR. Todd, who won here in February, visits the media center after qualifying No. 1 in Top Fuel with a 4.52. But the big news was that Todd, whose team will be defunct after this event, said he will definitely be competing in the Powerade Series next season.
"I know this isn't it," said Todd, referring to that this could be possibly his final drag race. "I can't really say what I'm doing (next season), but there's an announcement coming soon. I'm not worried about a job for next year. I'm just looking to end the year on a high note going into (2008)."
Todd also announced his plans after this weekend's event.
"Right now, we're going to finish up here and then run the Baja 1,000," Todd said.
In Top Fuel?
"Yeah, it's going to be a rough ride in that Top Fuel dragster," Todd joked.
Hang on, JR.

5:16 - Dinner time!

5:23 - End of a long day, but we get to do it all again tomorrow!