The Little Ol' FR 2009 NHRA Drag Racing Thread

FlAttorney's FR Racing ^ | March 12, 2009 | FlAttorney & Co. and a "cast of many"

[flattorney]

Top Fuel Larry Dixon; Funny Car Tony Pedregon; Pro Stock Jeg Coughlin,
and Pro Stock Motorcycle Craig Treble Win United Association NHRA SuperNationals

Dixon, Treble, Coughlin and Pedregon

Tony Pedregon picked up his second consecutive win of the season in Funny Car at the 40th annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Larry Dixon picked up his fifth win in Englishtown, while Jeg Coughlin and Craig Treble also win in their respective categories.

Pedregon powered his Q Horsepower Chevy Impala SS to a 4.246-second run at 260.56 to grab the win. It's Pedregon's second consecutive win of the season, 42nd of his career and second win in Englishtown. Pedregon also moved past points leader Ron Capps to take the top spot in the Funny Car points standings with the win.

Craig Treble

"I never thought I'd be afraid of a girl," said Pedregon, who faced Ashley Force Hood in the final round. "Fear of losing was in the back of my head. I knew we had a good race car. It ran good in the heat, and it ran good with cloud cover. Before the final, I just knew that Dickie [Venebles, crew chief] was making a lot of adjustments and I had a feeling it would be a close race. I heard her for a while. My car was revving up, spinning the tires. We got after it because we had to. I could feel the G's falling off, and I was worried. If the track was 1,320 feet, I'd be in big trouble. I didn't get off throttle. I just hung on. It was just enough. You don't know how relieved I was to see that win light."

NHRA legend John Force moved into the seventh spot with his second-round appearance while rookie driver Matt Hagan dropped from seventh to 10th in the point standings with his first-round loss.

Larry Dixon

In Top Fuel, Dixon drove his Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing dragster past current points leader Antron Brown to grab his third win of the season. Dixon's run of 4.553 seconds was enough to give him his fifth win at Englishtown and 46th of his career.

"We've had a lot of success at this race," said Dixon. "The race used to be Father's Day at Columbus, and we won out until they moved the Father's Day to here. I was like, 'Wow, I haven't won Englishtown in a long time. It would be cool to do that,' nonchalantly saying that at the beginning of the season. And then all of a sudden, you get to go to a bunch of finals and win here. This is a great track, and there's so much history here. Racing on the same track as 'Jungle' and Garlits and Shirley and all my heroes that I grew up watching race is a great deal."

With the win, Dixon was able to move past Top Fuel pilot Brandon Bernstein and take over the third spot, just 97 points behind leader Brown.

Jeg Coughlin

Defending Pro Stock world champion Jeg Coughlin drove his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt to a 6.598 at 209.49 past runner-up Mike Edwards to grab his fifth win of the season and second consecutive win of 2009. It also gave the four-time world champ his third win in Englishtown and 45th of his career.

"It's taken some craftiness on our part," said Coughlin, of his two wins over Edwards, who had the better performing car in both instances. "In the pits, the guys have been doing a fantastic job. We qualified eighth, which was not where we wanted to be, but when the weather mixed up Saturday, we just wanted to make sure that we got down the racetrack. Ideally, we wanted to be in the top eight for lane choice first round, and we finished eighth. We knew we had a lot to work with. We figured we could get within a hundredth and a half or two-hundredths of Mike Edwards and could probably pace with anybody else out there, and as it turned out, that's about the way it turned out."

Craig Treble

In Pro Stock Motorcycle Craig Treble drove his Honda of Kingston Suzuki to a 6.955 at 193.10 past defending world champion Eddie Krawiec and picked up his second win of the season, 14th of his career and second at Englishtown.

"This track loves me, and I love it," said Treble. "I don't know what it is but I really like it here. The guys like Matt Smith and Eddie [Krawiec] that went 6.90 were out of my league. I did not have a .90 in my bike. Of course, I don't feel bad about the final because Eddie whipped my butt the last time we raced. I owed that to him. I was doing okay on the starting line, but I just let it fly in the final and went .007. I should have done that other three rounds, but it worked. I'm looking forward to the west coast swing now. I've got a major engine overhaul coming up after Norwalk, and I can afford it now."

With the win, Treble moved from sixth to fourth in the Pro Stock Motorcycle point standings.

Full Throttle Series Final Results: 40th annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals
Top Fuel: Larry Dixon, 4.553 seconds @ (No speed) defeats Antron Brown, Foul-Red Light
Funny Car: Tony Pedregon, (0.068) 4.246 @ 260.56 def Ashley Force Hood, (0.125) 4.219 @ 272.72 (1)
Pro Stock: Jeg Coughlin, (0.025) 6.598 @ 209.49 def Mike Edwards, (0.038) 6.587 @ 209.82 (2)
PS Motorcycle: Craig Treble, (0.007) 6.955 @ 193.10 def Eddie Krawiec, (0.061) 6.906 @ 193.29 (3)
FlA Footnotes:
( __ ) = Starting line reaction time
(1) Holeshot win by Pedregon. Both drivers had trouble with their cars in this race. Pedregon got out of the gate first and extended his lead at 330 feet. His car started to move around and get a little loose, giving Force Hood a chance to close the gap. But then Force Hood's car started to move around a bit before it started heavily trailing smoke as it crossed the finish line.
(2) Holeshot win by Coughlin
(3) Holeshot win on an incredible light by Treble
<> Outstanding "tree cutting" in the Finals. Extremely rare to have 3 out of 4 holeshot wins. ~ fla
-- Credits: DRO, Summit FastNews Network, NHRA track report, edits/adds FlA & Co.

TAB, FlA

[nancytx]

I can not believe Ashley lost again!

[nancytx]

Bummed no ZZ Top webcast,, I keep singing the Journey songs in my head,, I had not seen them in ages,, wonderful treat,, they are playing Dallas July 19 but is outdoors,, dumb,, its already getting hotter than hell here. Tour schedule shows they are playing close to you all this summer in Hollywood, Fl. at the Hard Rock.

[nancytx]

ROFLOL,, luv the John and baby pic!

FlA or TAB,, could you pls pull your racing and NHRA comments on the hockey thread to here? That thread is dead,, dont want them forgotten. Cannot wait to hear about Fall Nationals plans,, I am horrible about having to wait :-)

[nancytx]

Prayers from all of us for a speedy recovery King. ~ fla

Ditto, not a good year for Kenny

[DragFink]

Flattorney; Great thread!!!!!! Just wanted to add that the cartoon was done by me. Jeff DeGrandis for Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen.

[BnBlFlag]

Views differ on different racing distances
By Nathan Hague and Dave Rogers
The Baytown Sun
Published March 20, 2010
Earlier this week, Houston Raceway Park general manager Seth Angel issued a nationally-distributed press release calling for the National Hot Rod Association to return to the traditional quarter-mile distance for all its races.

Then he turned his track over to the American Drag Racing League, which is running this weekend’s Dragpalooza VI – and all its races — at half that length, one-eighth of a mile.

Angel said it was an unplanned coincidence that he chose this week to speak out against the NHRA’s 2008 decision to shorten races in its two fastest classes, the nitromethane-fueled Top Fuel and Funny Car, from one-quarter of a mile (1,320 feet) to 1,000 feet.

The NHRA cited safety concerns caused by the 2008 death of Scott Kalitta, whose Funny Car crashed into a concrete retaining wall at the end of a New Jersey drag strip after its braking parachutes failed to open.

Angel said the racing fans he has talked to have made it clear they want a return to the quarter-mile races.

“We’re gearing up for the 23rd annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals (April 9-11) and I’ve been jumping in and helping our staff with ticket sales over the phone and I can say without question that our fans want the NHRA to return to the quarter-mile,” he said. “They tell us this over and over again.”

NHRA has been working on other ways to reduce horsepower and top speeds, but has said the new 1,000-foot distance will remain in place through the 2010 season.

“Their main goal always is safety, and it’s important we support them at this time,” Angel stated in the release. “However, the first rule of customer service is listening to your customers and the vast majority are telling us they want quarter-mile racing. We must ... return to the quarter mile as soon as it is feasibly possible.”

Drivers and members of their support crews in town for the ADRL Dragpalooza offered their perspectives.

John Montecalvo of John Montecalvo Racing says his crew enjoys the eighth-mile races.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It takes some time to get used to it, but once you do, it’s great. It’s great for the spectators and it allows them to sit anywhere.”

Montecalvo said the biggest difference is the safety it has on the drivers.

Chad Hester, member of the pit crew for Rickie Smith Racing, said there’s not much of a difference between the two races.

“We run both,” Hester said. “The biggest difference is that in the quarter-mile, you’re pouring all your power into it and leaning on the engine more. That can affect the (car) parts.”

Hester agreed the eighth-mile race tends to be a tad bit safer.

“When you’re going at such high speeds, it gets pretty dangerous,” he said. “You don’t have that quite as much in the eighth-mile race.”

Greg Lair from Amarillo, owner of Greg Lair Racing, prefers the quarter-mile race from a driver’s perspective but said the difference between that of a quarter-mile and an eighth-mile race is bigger than most people might think.

“I’m not big on the eighth-mile, personally,” he said. “But the safety issue is serious,” he said. “I think maybe some of the drivers’ wives and families don’t want them to race in it because of that. It’s a fun challenge but you have to be careful.”

Angel said because of how valuable the fans are, he wants to give them what they want, but doesn’t want to do anything that might risk safety.

“We poll our fans calling in,” Angel said. “They’ve made it loud and clear that’s what they want. That’s what we want. Our race is in a month and I feel obligated on behalf of our fans to let their opinion be known.

“We’re all for safety,” Angel said. “Nothing is more important than the well being of the drivers and the fans. We have always supported the NHRA in its ongoing search for solutions.”