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The Big Guys Go Gator-Chomping

In March, the Gainesville Raceway is always abuzz with the sights and sounds of the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.

The popular Gator Nats are the first race of the season for Pro Stock Motorcycle and the first big East Coast national-level competition, plus north central Florida loves to welcome race fans.

Last year’s champions were well-represented in the winner’s circle today.

In Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher made it past some tough mechanical problems against Larry Dixon in the semifinals to get to the finals against Brandon Bernstein’s Bud rail, where he proceeded to beat Bernstein with a 4.603 at 325.37 mph (he’s 16-8 against Bernstein in prior events.)

“There were a lot of good cars and a lot of people running equal to us, and every round was a battle,” said Schumacher. “We really had to earn this one. I look at this trophy and it’s a nice one, and we had really difficult cars to beat and it was one of the harder ones to earn. We got some breaks. Running 4.74 against Dixon; last year we would have gotten taken out.

“We’re really good at crunch time and when it matters, but getting a break every now and then is nice. This is Gainesville, one of my favorite races, and you look at the full stands and it’s a great race to win, but we’re going to need to try some different parts to get back ahead because everyone is right there with us.”

In Funny Car, reigning champ Tony Pedregon recovered from the explosion and fireball at Pomona to defeat another former John Force Racing competitor, Gary Densham, with a 4.921 at 315.27 mph. Pedregon was also the low qualifier, the 32nd pole of his career.

“We ran good when we had to run good and had a few rounds where we did what it took to win,” said Pedregon. “Usually it’s all about how quick and fast can we run and how much power can we apply to the track, but today we raced the conditions. Dickie [Venables, crew chief] had a really good game plan today. I have a lot of respect for Gary Densham, and we didn’t take him lightly — I know some of his tricks; I hope he doesn’t think I forgot – and he’s a tough customer, and these conditions played right into his hands.

“That final round against Gary is why people buy tickets,” Pedregon said. “This is still one of the few sports where you can have that kind of interaction in the pits - we love it, the fans love it, and really to be able to deliver a good close race in the finals is what it’s all about. I have a lot of respect for Gary Densham. That round could have gone either way.”

“To think that a little over a month ago I was in the hospital with burns on my hands is quite an accomplishment. It’s been pretty much non-stop for our crew, and we’ve had great support from our sponsors. We didn’t get off to the kind of start we wanted, but when you look at the quality of cars out here, you know why. You can’t count on too many of these guys just folding up. It used to be not that many years ago you had one or two cars; now you have a world-class field of 12 to 15 cars with all of the resources and talent. It’s going to be a dogfight, and every race is going to be important.”

Jeg Coughlin, Jr. made it a terrific birthday weekend for both his father and his owner (Victor Cagnazzi) by beating Jason Line with a 6.652 at 208.07 mph in the Pro Stock finals.

“The Gatornationals is definitely a marquee event on the NHRA tour, so it feels good to win here,” said Coughlin. “You always want to have the points lead with the Countdown to the Championship format, but we want that points lead bad coming into the second leg of the Countdown.

“It feels great, without question,” Coughlin said. “It certainly feels like we earned this one. The entire weekend was a grind, from losing Friday’s two qualifying sessions to rain on through to the trials and tribulations of race day. It took a toll on us all. But the reward was worth it.”

“Beating Greg [Anderson] on a holeshot in the second round was certainly a turning point for us, and we got a little fortunate in the semifinals after breaking the wheelie bar on the burnout. My crew chief told me I needed to shut it down, but I knew that Johnny [Gray] had been having some problems, so I at least was going to stage it. As soon as I let the clutch out it brought the front end up but also started spinning the tires, which helped a lot and dropped the front end and ran quick enough to have lane choice for the final. Then to have Jason Line, the last reigning champ, in the other lane I knew we had our hands full, and both of us put .65s on the board and put on a good show for the crowd.”

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, pole winner Matt Guidera had a huge reaction time advantage and ran a 6.949 at 191.54 mph to beat Andrew Hines and take home his second win at a national event (in fact he laid down 6 second runs every round.)

“This win is so much better than our first win,” said Guidera (his 2007 win at Reading PA came on a Wednesday after rain delays.) “I’m so happy with the No. 1 qualifier and that I didn’t beat myself. We ran consistent all day, but it was a lot different doing it in front of 30,000 people. I was feeling it and trying to relax and stay calm with everyone waving at you and looking at you. They say the first one is always special, but I don’t know how this one could have been much better. Every win is great, but to come in and run like we did and kick everybody’s butt all day long is great.

“I think our team has come around a lot faster than the rest of the teams,” said Guidera. “I think a lot of these teams didn’t do their homework this season, and I know how hard our team worked, and it showed. We had the field covered by a couple of hundredths, but there was a lot of parity with two Buells, a Harley, and a Suzuki in the final four.”

That’s a wrap on the Gators, but next I’ll be reporting for you live, March 28-30, from the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas. If you happen to be a subscriber to Texas Highways magazine, the current March 2008 issue includes my article on Texas drag racing, “Great Balls of Fire.”

Top Fuel Ladder at Gatornationals

Funny Car Ladder

Pro Stock Ladder

Pro Stock Motorcycle Ladder

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