The Gatornationals…an East Coast Drag Racers Birth Right
Written by Jory Elliott · March 14, 2006
The NHRA POWERade drag racing series makes its third stop of the 2006 season and its first on the east coast for the running of the 37th annual Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida.
The Gator’s, as they are affectionately known, signal the end of winter hibernation for a number of east coast race teams. This event is the first chance for lower budget east coast professional teams to make their NHRA competition debut while the majority of the competitors will emerge in the sportsman ranks. This is the opportunity that these east coast pedal pushers have been dreaming about since they parked the truck and trailer in the driveway late last year. It is a pilgrimage of sorts, setting out on an adventure that you have been on numerous times before and will gladly endure many times more. As the son of a low budget east coast competitor I fondly remember the trip to the Gatornationals on several occasions. The preparation of the race car and the anticipation that grew with every passing day was a reminder of why we love the sport so much.
With this event come some great stories amongst the professional ranks. In Top Fuel you have Melanie Troxel, the first women to lead the points in over a decade followed by single car teams like “Hot” Rod Fuller & David Baca holding down top five spots in the standings. Top Fuel newcomer Hillary Will sits ninth in points with her KB team, making it the first time dating back to the early 90’s when two women have held spots in the top 10 in points at consecutive times.
In Funny Car it is the status quo from last season with this class holding the narrowest point margin between the first and 10th place cars in the division. The top of the leader board looks similar to the beginning of last season with the CSK boys getting off to good starts along with Tommy Johnson Jr and the John Force juggernaut. Someone who has impressed thus far is Bob Gilbertson with his Autolite XP entry and it appears as though the Pedregon team of Cruz and Tony may have finally gotten their combinations race ready. If there were to be any surprises it would be that Gary Scelzi is currently in the ninth position but only 77 points out of the top spot. The biggest surprise of all would be the omission of Eric Medlen from those rankings. After a slow start to the 2006 season the Gatornationals would be a great opportunity for the father & son duo to get their first win of the year.
It appears as though Greg Anderson hasn’t missed a beat since wrapping up his 3rd straight championship last season and he will undoubtedly be the car to beat all campaign long. Pro Stock has its fair share of surprises as well, with series veterans like Mike Edwards, Rickie Smith, Larry Morgan and Jim Yates finding their way into the top ten so far. These drivers are a true testament to the dedication and perseverance it takes to have a professional racing career span over as many years as they have.
The Gatornationals mark the first event of the season for the Pro Stock bike competitors. It will be interesting to see if the new rule changes and extensive testing done by other teams will be enough to knock the Harley-Davidson riders from the top of the mountain this year.
The pilgrimage has begun and like many I can’t wait to see the results.
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Please me give times and tracks for the year !