Fast Take Compiled by Dwight Drum
Web work by Larsen & Drum Images by Gary Larsen
A large group of press agents bring a load of talent to NHRA and all of motorsports, and they are very good at creating, assembling and sending out their work. Most are dedicated and busy, but some stand out with their team reports because they bring special color and prose to their polished efforts.
Each week we select the press releases that are told like stories because we believe many fans out there would like a section reserved for driver PR story tellers. Growing up many of us probably learned to write while asking -- tell me a story.
We thank these select writers for their ability to keep on telling.
Cory McClenathan [Top Fuel]
CORY MCCLENATHAN RELEASED FOLLOWING 2010 SEASON
Cory McClenathan will be released from Don Schumacher Racing, following the conclusion of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, announced team owner Don Schumacher today.
McClenathan, who has been racing the FRAM Top Fuel dragster for DSR since 2008 and has been sponsored by Honeywell brands FRAM, Prestone and Autolite since 2006, is in the midst of a tight Top Fuel championship battle that includes him, Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher. The championship will be determined at the season finale in Pomona, Calif., Nov. 11-14. "This was a tough decision to make," said Schumacher. "Cory has done such an outstanding job for DSR and Honeywell and he has been an important member of the DSR family. He is a remarkable race-car driver, and clearly a champion in the making. "I have invited Cory to stay on with the team until he finds another ride. I have also asked him to be available if we were in need of a test driver or if we were to introduce another team in the future." A replacement driver will be named following the conclusion of the 2010 NHRA season. "I am not retiring," said McClenathan, 47. "I have had a wonderful relationship with Don Schumacher, both personal and professional. I am grateful to him and to Honeywell for all they have done for me. "Right now I have to focus on trying to win the 2010 championship, which I want to do for DSR, for Fram, Prestone and Autolite and, of course, for myself. After this season is over, I will pursue other opportunities to continue racing in the NHRA Full Throttle Series."MCCLENATHAN AIMS TO END 2010 NHRA SEASON WITH A WIN
Mathematically, Cory McClenathan, third in the rankings, still has a chance to claim his first NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship, as the 2010 season comes to an end this weekend at the 46th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.
Realistically, he's racing the FRAM Top Fuel dragster for second place behind points leader Larry Dixon. In his way is his own Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher, 21 markers ahead of him in second place. Dixon holds an 85-point margin over Schumacher, 106 over McClenathan. The number of maximum points available on a race weekend is 150, which includes points for qualifying position, bonus points for the quickest qualifier in each round, 20 points per round win, and 20 bonus points for setting a national elapsed-time record. "We've seen championships won before in the final round, under similar circumstances," said McClenathan, who leaves DSR at the end of the 2010 season. "But, at the same time, I'm not sure what my mind should be on at what part of the day. "It's a little crazy to think, Oh, well, OK, I might be driving a different car next year, but I am certainly glad to be in the position I'm in right now to be able to go toe-to-toe with Tony and Larry and try to win the last race while I'm in the FRAM Top Fuel dragster. That's my biggest goal. "The weather in Pomona could certainly be conducive to running low elapsed times and big speed. The ET national record would give us the 20 points we need, and that certainly would be good. And if we can go out and qualify on top, we could have a shot at it. "It's obviously important to me as well as (crew chiefs) Todd (Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler) and all the FRAM boys. I'd like nothing better than to give these guys a win at the end of the season."Matt Hagan [Funny Car]
Points leader Hagan happy to be in the hunt
"I feel really good about everything," said Hagan, whose consistent finishes this year, plus setting a national ET record during the Countdown, have earned him the top spot. He has three national-event victories to Force's five. "It's the end of the year and I'm excited to be in the championship hunt. We're still leading the points, which is huge, and leading is a lot better than following coming into the final race, so I'm excited about that.
"My family is going to be with me in Pomona, so I'm looking forward to spending some time with them. It's just been a great year. Hopefully we finish strong.
"No matter what happens, we can't lose sight of how much progress we've made this year. This is the team that in our rookie season last year struggled to try to make the Countdown. And now we're in a position where we've really got a legitimate shot to win the championship.
"There are only four rounds of racing left and John Force has to make up half of those on me, and that's huge. But I know how determined he is, but so are we.
"It's easy to get wrapped up in this championship, but I think the big picture is that this DieHard Dodge team has taken huge steps forward in a short amount of time. And we've all grown together well and are working together well.
"We've been to three finals in a row and that's tough to do in a Funny Car. I'm just really proud of the DieHard guys. I'm proud of all the work they're doing and I'm proud of (crew chief) Tommy DeLago. He's really come into his own as a crew chief and he's doing a great job. This thing will fall where it falls, but we sure hope it falls our way."
John Force [Funny Car]
Force ready for showdown at auto club finals
John Force knows he can't drive forever. His rivals in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series may not be so sure.
At age 61, in his 33rd professional season, his 25th at the wheel of a Funny Car sponsored by Castrol GTX, Force is poised once more to make history as the 2010 season speeds to a uncertain conclusion with the 46th running of the Auto Club of Southern California Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Force rolls into the season finale trailing third year pro Matt Hagan by 37 points in a two-man duel for the $500,000 champion's bonus. It is a classic battle: Hagan's youth against Force's experience; Hagan's Dodge Charger against Force's Ford Mustang.
It's John Force Racing against Don Schumacher Racing; Castrol against Valvoline; Mac Tools against Matco Tools; Force's three-rail chassis against Hagan's two-rail. It's Hagan, the Virginia farmer, against Force, the former truck driver who grew up in the Southern California car culture.
It's the stuff of which movies are made, which isn't so surprising since Force's entire career has played out as little movie vignettes, many of them more unlikely than anything offered up in even the most outlandish Hollywood screenplay. There was overcoming childhood polio to become a high school football quarterback on a team that, in his three seasons, never won a game.
There was the fight through abject poverty to field his own race team and compete against childhood idols Don "the Snake" Prudhomme and Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen. There was his rise from drag racing doormat to royalty as the most prolific winner in the history of the sport with 14 series titles, 131 tour victories and enough all-star hardware to fill a warehouse.
There was the transformation from movie fan to television personality as the star of "Driving Force," a reality series that aired for two seasons on the A&E network.
And then, in 2007, there were the crashes. The first claimed the life of Force's teammate, friend and protégé Eric Medlen and sent him on a single-minded quest to improve safety. The second, six months later, sent Force to a Dallas hospital for six hours of surgery to repair damage to his arms, legs, hands and feet.
Now, three years after the crash, after enduring countless hours of rehab and conditioning, Force one more is in contention for the championship.
His quest to win for the first time since his crash, for the first time since the NHRA adopted the Countdown to 1 playoff format and for the first time when trailing the leader entering the season's final race, recalls for many, not a movie script, but a recent Toby Keith song lyric: "I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was."
That's because this week Force needs to marshal his considerable skills just one more time for a total of eight 1,000 foot sprints down a ribbon of concrete and asphalt on which he has won more than 100 previous rounds and celebrated in the winners' circle 14 times.
Just once more does the charismatic icon need to work his magic. Not that it will be easy. Hagan's Die Hard Dodge has been in the final round in each of the last three races and, if it is again this week, Force's challenge will be exceedingly more difficult - though not impossible.
The bottom line for Force, who's won the Auto Club Finals a Funny Car record seven times, is that he has a chance "and, at the end of the day," he said, "that's all you can ask for. I like the kid - but I'll be ready to do my job."
Clay Millican [Top Fuel Dragster]
Millican preparing for Burnout "The Ultimate Drag Race Challenge"
Drag racing is going main stream.
The definitive acceleration sport provides the impetus for an upcoming MTV2 television program that features students from the Universal Technical Institute at Phoenix constructing two drag race cars for competition.
"Basically, we have two classes from UTI and they have nine weeks to build two drag racing cars," said Ray Iddings of High Five Entertainment. "We'll take the cars to Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix for a best-of-five showdown . . . and the losing car is going to get crushed.
"The program, Burnout 'The Ultimate Drag Race Challenge', begins in April on MTV2."
Veteran NHRA Top Fuel driver and television personality Clay Millican will be the show's host while Antron Brown and Jason Line will serve as judges. Brown drives in NHRA's Top Fuel category and Line is a Pro Stock driver.
"We've already started filming," Iddings continued. "The teams have met Clay and they know the rules. They will be competing against the clock, facing different challenges along the way in order to get more time to work on their car - while they are still attending classes at UTI.
"Half the students have been to the school's Hot Rod program, so they will know what they're doing. The others, obviously, haven't, so we've divided them into two teams. Each team has someone who knows what's happening."
Millican said his duties include coaching the students and helping them speed up the process "because they have just a short amount of time to get these cars built right. We will be challenging them so we can figure out who's going to rise to the head of the class.
"I am excited to be a part of the show and I think this is going to be a huge show for drag racing. We are certainly visiting an audience on MTV2 that may not have had much exposure to it."
Shawn Langdon [Top Fuel Dragster]
Diehard drag racer Langdon melancholy about season's end
Most racers will tell you they embrace the off-season and the three months of inactivity it offers. Top Fuel pro Shawn Langdon, driver of the Lucas Oil/Speedco dragster, is just the opposite, wishing instead that his high-horsepower quests lasted year round.
"I'm kind of bummed it's all coming to an end," Langdon said. "I'd race every weekend if I could. I just love the sport. I don't want to stop.
"I am fired up to see how the points shake out and where we end up. We're shooting for fourth place, and considering this is my second year as a pro I think that would be a great finish for us."
Heading into this weekend's 46th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals, Langdon is just a two races removed from a season-best runner-up finish, which he scored at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas. In the playoffs alone he's won seven elimination rounds, moving him up two spots in the Full Throttle rankings to his current fifth-place perch.
"The car's been running pretty good," Langdon said. "We've been strong on race day but just a little inconsistent in qualifying. Maybe we can put it all together this weekend. That's the plan."
The race brings Langdon back to his roots. He grew up in Mira Loma, where his mother Debbie still resides, and frequents La Habra, where his father Chad lives. In fact, he skipped a trip back to Indianapolis after the last event in Las Vegas to come to California early to visit his family and friends.
The area also is home to Lucas Oil's corporate headquarters, which is in Corona.
"We'll have lots of support, that's for sure," Langdon said. "I'm actually scheduled to play a game or two with my old softball league team before the race so that will be fun to catch up with those guys. Everyone from back home is always so supportive of my racing and it's neat when they get to come to an actual event. It's better than following it on Facebook.
"Hopefully, we'll close the year with a big race and put smiles on everyone's faces."
Morgan Lucas [Top Fuel Dragster]
Crew chief Venables getting a better grip on GEICO dragster
Dickie Venables knew his transition into the role of crew chief of the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster wasn't going to be totally free of pitfalls, and he was right. But an extra day of testing after the recently-completed Las Vegas NHRA Nationals has the two-time world champion feeling optimistic.
Venables, driver Morgan Lucas, and the rest of the crew stayed at Las Vegas an extra day to test and work the bugs out of the brand new racecar they rolled out in Sin City. With those errors found and corrected -- it's full speed ahead for this weekend's season finale at the 46th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals.
"We had a couple of fuel system malfunctions in Vegas that cost us a couple of runs," Venables said. "It's a good thing we stayed on Monday and worked all that stuff out. We're a whole bunch more confident coming into Pomona than we were going into Las Vegas."
Venables said he wasn't totally surprised that the combination of new chassis and engine ran into some preliminary snags.
"When you have everything disassembled and everything goes back together, there's a chance you are going to have a problem with a component here and there," he said. "When it costs you qualifying runs, the odds are good you are going to get behind, which is what happened."
Lucas and the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster are locked into a Top 10 position in the Full Throttle Series. Venables said the plan this weekend is to finish the season strong and build toward a more successful 2011.
"Pomona is a race a lot of teams want to do well at," he said. "For us, we want to end the season on a high note. We're just getting started, so to do well there will make the so-called off-season go a lot better."
Venables added that the personnel now under his direction have responded well to the recent changes and have been resilient despite a season that has been frustrating more often than not.
"I feel fortunate," Venables said. "The guys on the team have been very receptive to the changes and remain very upbeat. That says a lot because they have been through a lot. We're going to do our best to get the thing headed in the right direction – and we will.
"The biggest challenge is that we want to make that happen right away, and that's not always going to be the case."
Steve Torrence [Top Fuel Dragster]
Steve Torrence proud of top 10 Top Fuel finish
Nine months ago, when NHRA's Full Throttle Drag Racing Series launched its 23-race 2010 schedule, Steve Torrence was positive about one thing.
"We are going to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship and finish in the top 10," he said then. "If things go well . . . maybe we'll get a top five."
Torrence and the Capco Racing/Tuttle Motorsports Top Fuel team will be back at Pomona, Thursday through Sunday, for the season-ending Auto Club Finals. His vow to finish in the top 10 has been fulfilled, but he won't know where he winds up until after Sunday's eliminations.
"We had some issues at our last race in Las Vegas," Torrence commented, "and that prevented us from getting a round win, so we wound up tied for eighth place. We have 2,257 points and so does David Grubnic. What we'd like to do on Sunday is fly in under the radar, win four rounds and go to winner's circle. That would be a great way to end the season."
Whatever happens, Torrence is proud to be in the top 10 at the close of his first full season of Top Fuel racing.
"It has been a good year," he said. "I certainly enjoyed going to all 23 races and working with Dexter Tuttle and his team. We had good race car. It ran well and consistently. I think everyone on this team wants to go out on a high note this weekend."
Robert Hight [Funny Car]
HIGHT LOOKING FOR POMONA SUCCESS AT HOME TRACK
Last year Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang were heading into Auto Club Raceway at Pomona for the Auto Club Finals with the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship all but locked up. Hight would clinch his first championship on Saturday night following qualifying.
This year Hight will roll into Auto Club Raceway without a personal championship on the line but still in the thick of a championship battle as team leader John Force trails Matt Hagan by 37 points in the Funny Car class. Hight and teammate Ashley Force Hood will be looking to do their best to put Force in the best position for his 15th personal and 17th team Full Throttle Funny Car championship.
"Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win another championship for Auto Club and John Force Racing. With one race left we aren't going to get our second championship but we can have a huge impact of getting John his 15th championship and that is still a championship for Auto Club as well as Castrol, Ford Racing. Mac Tools and BrandSource," said Hight, a four-time 2010 winner.
Hight has had a fair amount of success at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona winning three times including the 2007 Auto Club Finals. His first win in Pomona was one of the most dramatic of his career when you consider his Auto Club Mustang blew up and the team pulled the Ford body off the Auto Club show car and raced to victory at the 2006 Winternationals.
"Auto Club Raceway is almost a magical place. There is so much history at this track and we have seen or been a part of that history. When you roll through the gates you just get excited. There are more family and friends around and you have to focus on the race. You see a lot of legends just walking through the pits and to be out on the track racing it is pretty amazing."
This year Hight set a number of personal records including winning three races in a row, racing to four finals in a row, and moving into the Top Ten all-time in the Funny Car class as a No. 1 qualifier. His Auto Club Mustang held the points lead briefly in the middle of the season and that continued a personal streak for Hight that he is proud of.
"We led the points for a couple of weeks this season after I got on that roll in May winning in Atlanta, St. Louis and Topeka. I have been in the points lead every year I have raced Funny Car. This year there has only been three Funny Cars that led the points and I am one of them along with Force and Hagan. You want to have a top tier Funny Car and we have one. There is no doubt we have stumbled in the Countdown but I have confidence in my crew chief Jimmy Prock that on Monday after the Auto Club Finals we are going to start working on that 2011 Full Throttle Championship," said Hight.
Jack Beckman [Funny Car]
BECKMAN LOOKS FOR STRONG FINISH TO 2010 NHRA SEASON
Jack Beckman is looking for a strong finish to the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at this weekend's 46th annual NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. While virtually out of the running for his first Funny Car championship, the California native and driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger will fight for a place in the top three.
Standing in third entering this weekend's season finale, he's 99 points behind second-place John Force and 136 back of first-place Matt Hagan, his DSR teammate. On his tail is Ashley Force Hood, just 13 markers behind, in fourth.
"Mathematically, we're pretty much out of it for the championship, and that's very disappointing," said Beckman, winner of one national event this season. "I said at the beginning of the year that we'd like to win at least a couple of races and come into Pomona with a legit shot at the championship. Instead, we're battling for third place right now with Ashley Force. If we win the race this weekend, it's a lock. We'll finish in third. It's so important to close the year strong.
"Starting the year strong is great. It gives you the momentum and it gives the team the mindset that you can challenge for the top spot. But to finish the year strong is really what takes you through all that hard work in the off-season leading up to testing to build momentum for the next year.
"I've been fortunate enough to be driving a top-five car every year I've competed in nitro Funny Car and will be again this year.
"Our goal for next year is to win more races and we want to be the champion. To be able to keep this group of crew guys together on the Valvoline/MTS team going into the next season is important toward accomplishing that. And to be able to win at my home track in Pomona - I have many friends coming out for this race - would just be the ultimate way to cap the year.
"It would really make 2010 a successful year and that's our goal," added Beckman, who has never won in Pomona during his short pro career, which began in the last quarter of 2006. He was the No. 1 qualifier and runner-up at this event in 2006.
Ron Capps [Funny Car]
CAPPS TARGETS SEASON-ENDING TOP-FIVE FINISH AT POMONA
Racing the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger for Don Schumacher Racing, Ron Capps would like to end the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series with his second victory of the year and a move into the top five in points at this weekend's 46th annual NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.
Entering the event in seventh place, Capps could easily move into fifth with a strong finish. He trails fifth-place Bob Tasca III by 72 points after a tough run in the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
"We talked about it before the last race in Vegas of trying to finish the year strong," said Capps, who began the playoffs in fifth place. "You want to end the year with a good chance of winning the NHRA Finals in Pomona. That would make for a great off-season.
"We want to win, of course, but we'd also like nothing more than to help our DSR teammate Matt Hagan clinch the championship. If we qualify well, get lane choice first round, we might be able to help Hagan's team by beating one of his close competitors for the championship. That would be great.
"We still feel like we could move up a spot or two in points into the top five and that's what we're aiming for.
"(Crew chief) John Medlen has done a great job with the NAPA team. We stayed and tested on Monday in Vegas, ran a 4.06 (-second pass) off the trailer and then a 4.11 in the middle of the day. We really felt like we learned a lot. So, I think we can use that information in Pomona. I'm excited about that," added Capps, a two-time Pomona winner.
Ashley Force Hood [Funny Car]
Ashley aiming for 'payback' at auto club finals
Paybacks usually are hell, but at this week's 46th annual Auto Club of Southern California Finals, the concluding event in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Series, atonement could be heaven for drag racing icon John Force.
In a pressure cooker environment in which he needs a little help if he is to win his 15th NHRA Funny Car Championship, Force has a secret weapon this week in the form of his 27-year-old daughter, Ashley Force Hood.
"I owe all my racing success to dad," said Force Hood, the fourth year driver of the Castrol GTX® Ford Mustang. "Maybe I can start paying him back this week."
The two-time reigning Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Champion, the NHRA national record holder for Funny Car speed at 316.38 miles per hour and first woman ever to win an NHRA Funny Car race, Force Hood is focused on one thing this week at Auto Club Raceway and that is winning rounds.
Her perfect scenario would be to qualify at the top of the field as she did a year ago, beat points leader Matt Hagan in one of the early rounds, thus putting her father's fate back in his own hands, and win the race at what she proudly calls "our home track."
Although her bid to become the first woman to win the Funny Car title will fall just short for a second straight season (a year ago she was runner-up to teammate and brother-in-law Robert Hight), Force Hood is motivated this week beyond her desire to provide positive payback to her dad.
First of all, there is her personal rivalry with Hagan, another 27-something who enjoys a 4-2 round win advantage after beating her in three consecutive semifinal matches, the most recent last month at Las Vegas.
Then there's her battle for third place with the man who first taught her to drive a race car, "Fast Jack" Beckman who, ironically, is Hagan's Don Schumacher Racing teammate. The former driving instructor currently occupies the No. 3 position but comes in only 13 points ahead of Force Hood - one racing round.
"Our goal is to finish as high as we can (in the final order)," said the former high school cheerleader. "We can't control who we race. All we can do is try to go rounds.
Melanie Troxel [Funny Car]
In-N-Out Burger racer Troxel heading into sponsor's home territory
For Melanie Troxel and the In-N-Out Burger Funny Car team, this weekend's 46th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals is going to be equal parts reunion and race.
The team will not just be looking for victory in the In-N-Out Burger Dodge Charger R/T, but the end of an incredible first with the legendary West Coast burger giant on the car.
"Our races in Southern California will see us get the most In-N-Out Burger guests all year long," Troxel said. "We're headed back to the same track where we first ran for them this year, and where I first ran a car for them ever in the late 1990s in a Top Alcohol Dragster."
Troxel said it's been a joy to share the pride that people who work for In-N-Out Burger have for their company.
"We're having another car display Wednesday night in West Covina, Calif.," she said. "I've always enjoyed working with In-N-Out. Everyone from the corporate employees to the people who work in your local In-N-Out Burger store love working for the company. And the company treats them well.
"You feel that when you meet the employees. They are always proud to tell me which store they work at, and it makes working with the company a lot of fun. This race is so much fun because we get to spend that extra time with them and tell them about what we do. We're all on the same team."
Troxel said that rediscovering the reach this regional chain of restaurants has across the country has been especially satisfying.
"It's something I've known for years," Troxel said. "You can go someplace on the East Coast, get off the plane wearing something with In-N-Out on it and people will stop you and tell you how much they love it.
"They'll even tell which store they go to when they arrive in different cities. People are passionate about these burgers."
On the racing side, Troxel said the team made a big leap forward in Las Vegas, which has energized the entire organization before embarking on racing the whole 2011 season in the Funny Car.
"I'm excited with the way the team is headed," she said. "We started to see the changes that (crew chief) Aaron Brooks is making to the car show up in Las Vegas last time out. The car is running better numbers and it's an exciting time for this R2B2 Racing team."
Since the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series ended its season in Las Vegas, Troxel will be driving just the Funny Car in Pomona.
"You never know what car or bike you might see me on at any given time," Troxel said. "Just running the Funny Car will give me a slower paced weekend, which I appreciate. It's going to allow me to focus on that car and spend time with our friends at In-N-Out."
Tim Wilkerson [Funny Car]
Wilk
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