Hotlanta Delivers Surprises
Written by Sheila Scarborough · April 29, 2007
Bernstein, Hight, Anderson and Stoffer win at Atlanta Dragway.
Yes, Ashley Force beat her Dad, but a lot of other things happened on a hot and steamy drag strip during the 27th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.
NHRA.com Sunday recap
In Top Fuel, Brandon Bernstein joined fellow winners Hight and Anderson as they hoisted Wallys in back-to-back races. Bernstein defeated a surprising Doug Herbert in the finals, with a 4.662 at 305.01 mph. He now carries the Top Fuel points lead into the next race in St. Louis, home of his Budweiser rail.
“It’s huge to grab the points lead heading into Anheuser-Busch’s backyard,” Bernstein said. “They’ve been a part of our family for so long and to be able to go into the race on a two-win streak and with the points lead is quite a feeling. I’d love to make it three-in-a-row and they way Tim and Kim [Richards, tuners] have this Budweiser car running right now it could happen.
“My buddy Eric Medlen is looking down on us. I felt his presence today and this win is every bit as satisfying as the last one for helping us all in our grieving process. I’m proud to win this race in his honor because I still miss him very much and think about him all the time.”
Bob Vandergriff put on a great show for the UPS executives in attendence, with Brown finally falling in the semifinals.
Robert Hight and Mike Ashley had a titanic Funny Car duel in their final, but in the end a little tire hazing by the man from Gotham gave Hight the chance that he needed.
“We’ve got Eric Medlen and we’ve got [crew chief] Jimmy Prock and that’s a pretty awesome combination,” Hight said. “I think Eric is looking down on all of us out here racing but he’s probably favoring these Ford Mustangs a little more than the others. Winning races sure lifts the spirits of everyone at John Force Racing and I’m happy to be able to give everyone something else to think about for a little while.
“To win like this under these hot conditions makes me very proud of my team. We all know Jimmy can make this thing fly when it’s cool outside so to see him put forth an effort like this in the heat is encouraging. This is probably what we’ll see for the next four, five months.”
Ashley Force not only beat John Force in the first father/daughter Pro matchup, she also beat Tony Pedregon before finally losing to eventual finalist Mike Ashley. This is only the second time that a woman has advanced to a Funny Car semifinal; the first one was Della Woods at Maple Grove in September 1985.
“Today I’m a proud father,” John said. “I’ve dreamed of this day for a long time and it makes me emotional to think it finally came true. She’s a great young driver and she’s probably gonna whip me a bunch, but I’m okay with it because she’s my baby.”
The Greg Anderson juggernaut put out the Pro Stock lights for a resurgent Professor, Warren Johnson, who had a Hall of Fame weekend when he made it to the finals. It was Anderson’s fourth win of the season, and a somewhat bittersweet victory over the man whose cars he used to tune.
“Where’s daddy?” Anderson asked as he climbed from his car, “I’m so proud of that guy. He did a great job today at his home track and I’m sure all his fans here are happy for him. It still means a lot to beat him, especially in a final.
“We’ve got some great history here, too, and the time I spent with him here for all those years certainly didn’t hurt. I love this place and winning a race that has your sponsor’s name on it is important.
“A big lead in the points won’t mean as much this year with the new Countdown deal and I can’t even imagine how much pressure we’ll all be under when that deal starts. The best we can do is try to get a big lead now and maybe have time to test some things before it starts in Indy.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Karen Stoffer laid the doubts to rest that she’s a one-hit wonder on her Geico Suzuki, as she beat Matt Smith in the finals.
“We’ve been striving for consistency for four years and it finally feels like we’ve found it,” Stoffer said. “I never expected to be standing here after three races with two wins and the points lead. It’s quite a feeling. Kudos to Gary [Stoffer, her husband and crew chief] for helping me hit the lights and for setting up the perfect clutch combination.
“Alan Reinhart [NHRA announcer] said in Gainesville that we’d won our one race for the year and that really kind of got under our skin. We really used that to motivate us to prove him wrong and I’m glad we won our second one already.”
That’s it for today….meet you in St. Louie, Louie for the Midwest Nationals May 4-6 at Gateway Raceway, in the shadow of the famous Gateway Arch that symbolizes the city’s role as a gateway to Western pioneers.
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