PLENTY OF DRAMA PROMISED AS FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
In Funny Car, a female driver is trying to make history and become the first of her gender to win a world championship crown in the wildly unpredictable category which her father, John Force, has dominated for most of two decades. In order to do it, Ashley Force-Hood needs to stop five other men who are also in contention, including one multi-time champ, her former driving instructor, a teammate, last season’s series runner-up, and a driver who’s finished second in the championship standings three times.
Courtesy: NHRA Media Relations
LAS
VEGAS – As the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs, comes to
the season’s penultimate race in Las Vegas, each professional category
in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series features its own dramatic
storyline.
In
Top Fuel, every championship contender is gunning to remove a category
dominator from the throne he has held for the past five seasons.
In
Funny Car, a female driver is trying to make history and become the
first of her gender to win a world championship crown in the wildly
unpredictable category which her father has dominated for most of two
decades. In order to do it, she’ll need to stop five other men who are
also in contention, including one multi-time champ, her former driving
instructor, a teammate, last season’s series runner-up, and a driver
who’s finished second in the championship standings three times.
In
Pro Stock, a highly-spiritual and mild-mannered journeyman in the 200
mph category is having a dream season and is on the verge of winning
his much sought after first series title. Only a three-time champ
stands in his way.
In
Pro Stock Motorcycle, another popular veteran has emerged as the rider
to beat in the competitive two-wheel category and is eight rounds away
from making his lifetime dream come true. He will need to hold off the
defending world champ to make it happen.
Those
storylines and many more will unfold at the ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas
Nationals, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, at the spectacular Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway. The race, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, is
the 23rd of 24 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for
2009, and the fifth of six races in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s
championship playoffs.
Tony
Schumacher is in a familiar place as the series leader in Top Fuel with
two races to go. The U.S. Army dragster driver has won the last five
championship titles, and six overall, and appears poised to add another
trophy to his collection. He has raced to five victories this season
and holds a 47-point advantage over two-time champ Larry Dixon entering
the final two races. Veteran driver Cory McClenathan (68 points back),
regular season champ Antron Brown (81 back) and Virginia winner Brandon
Bernstein (120 back) are all realistically in the championship mix.
“Legitimately,
there's two or three, probably four cars that can still win the
championship, and it’s going to come down to, you know, you’re still in
charge of your own destiny,” said Dixon, also a five-time winner this
season in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster. “If you go out there and you
win out those two races, you’ve done as much as you can do and hope
it’s enough and try and get the Full Throttle Championship.”
While
Schumacher was the driver who won the championship the past five years,
Dixon’s current teammates were the ones who provided Schumacher with
the outstanding car.
“I’ve
read and heard (Tony) say he gets pumped up when he races us and a lot
of the guys on that team is his old team,” Dixon said. “But for me,
when I look over it’s still the Army car and he’s still got the No. 1
on it. So I’m trying to do everything I can to help change that.”
Robert
Hight has made an incredible leap in the playoffs, powering his Auto
Club Ford Mustang from 10th to first in the Funny Car point standings
with victories at Charlotte and Dallas. He holds a 13-point lead over
Ashley Force Hood, his teammate, who is trying to become the first
female in NHRA history to win a championship in the 7,000-horsepower
category. Her father, John Force, has won 14 series championships since
1990.
Also
in the mix are two-time champ and former Force teammate Tony Pedregon,
three-time series runner-up Ron Capps, last season’s series runner-up
Tim Wilkerson and former drag racing instructor Jack Beckman.
All
six drivers are separated by 86 points. Bob Tasca III is also still
hanging by a mathematical thread in his Motorcraft Quick Lane Shelby
Mustang at 103 points back.
Force
Hood knows the competition for the title is insane; arguably the most
intense of any of the four pro categories. She’s just glad to be in
position to be a part of it.
“It’s
the best spot that we could be in,” Force Hood said. “At the beginning
of the year when we have our big team meetings and we get ready to head
off to the Winternationals, that’s always our goal. Obviously Robert
and I are not the only ones, but we are one and two. So (the others)
are going to have to catch up and go around us. If we can just keep
doing what we have been doing and not have anything go wrong, no
mistakes, no mess‑ups; the tuners can get Vegas and Pomona figured out
as far as the tune-up and how they want to set up the car, we will just
better our chances of getting the championship.”
Mike
Edwards can wrap up his first Pro Stock world championship at Las Vegas
if he can go two rounds more than three-time champ Greg Anderson.
Edwards, who earned a perfect 150-point race total at the last event in
Virginia by producing a stunning national record elapsed time of 6.509
seconds, has had an incredible season behind the wheel of his
A.R.Thttp://media.nhra.com/apcm/Young Life Pontiac GXP. He’s earned
five race victories and 14 No. 1 qualifying positions to hold a
128-point advantage over Anderson entering the final two stops on the
tour.
“I’m
thinking (championship), but I don’t have it yet,” Edwards said. “It’s
close, but you’ve still got to stay focused. You’ve still got to keep
your goals ahead. Those two Summit cars are going to be burning the
midnight oil to try and get back up there with me. I’m not going to
count my chickens yet before they hatch. But I’m living my dream right
now, and I’m real close to it.”
Like
Edwards, Hector “The Hammer” Arana can make his lifelong Pro Stock
Motorcycle dream a reality with strong performances on his Lucas Oil
Buell at the final two races. He leads defending series champ Eddie
Krawiec by 28 points. Much like Edwards, he is a veteran in his
category who has always showed promise but never claimed the big prize.
Also like Edwards, he is producing amazing performances on the track
this season. At Memphis earlier this month he lowered the national
elapsed time record to 6.851 seconds.
“I’m
really pleased with the performance of the bike and this S&S
motor,” said Arana, who has won five races this season, including the
prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and the first two playoff races in
Charlotte and Dallas. “It's a helluva piece, and (Pro Stock driver)
Larry Morgan’s guys are working hard to keep me winning rounds and
races and the title, something we’ve always dreamed of. It’s amazing
how everything has turned around for me to win five races this season;
now I just need to win (two) more and I’ll be good.”
SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions for the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals are scheduled for 12:30 and 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30 and will continue at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. Final professional eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1.
TELEVISION:
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at
11:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Oct. 31. On Sunday, Nov. 1, ESPN2 and
ESPN2 HD will feature NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 2:30 p.m. (ET), and three hours of eliminations coverage at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
LUCAS OIL SERIES: The
NHRA Las Vegas Nationals also will feature competition in seven
categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the
NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing stripes. Lucas Oil Series
qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29. Lucas Oil Series
eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30.
ON THE WEB: Get instant results, access to photos, video and audio clips and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com.