Welcome back, speed freaks - it’s Winternationals
Written by Sheila Scarborough · February 9, 2008
Antron Brown, Tim Wilkerson and Greg Anderson lead the field as the first low qualifiers of the 2008 NHRA POWERade drag racing season. 14-time champion John Force is back after his 2007 season-ending injuries, as he qualifies for the Funny Car field in Pomona, California.
For those folks who are head-scratching about seeing Antron Brown’s name (when you know that the 2008 Pro Stock Motorcycle season doesn’t kick off until Gatornationals next month) let’s get you caught up with a few significant changes in the sport:
** Antron Brown, after 10 years racing motorcycles, has shifted to Top Fuel and is now on the David Powers two-dragster team with “Hot Rod” Fuller. He’s in the Matco Tools rail previously driven by Whit Bazemore; Bazemore does not have a ride this season.
** John Force has worked furiously on his post-injury rehab in recent months, and fans are thrilled to see him back in the cockpit. Rookie of the Year Ashley Force is back as well (and sister Courtney moved up to Top Alcohol Dragster.)
** Top Fueler Doug Herbert suffered a horrendous tragedy last month when he lost both of his sons in an auto accident. He’s racing this season “For My Boys.”
** Melanie Troxel has shifted from Top Fuel to driving a Mike Ashley team Funny Car. Her husband Tommy Johnson, Jr. took over Kenny Bernstein’s Monster Energy Drink Funny Car, so now we await the inevitable husband-wife FC race sometime this season.
** Two significant rule changes: both Top Fuel and Funny Car are allowed up to 90% nitromethane (an increase of 5%) and some changes were made in the NHRA qualifying process partly to allow for changing weather conditions between Friday and Saturday qualifying.
** Mike Neff joins the John Force Racing team and Jerry Toliver gets in a Funny Car for Don Schumacher.
** Dave Connolly and Richie Stevens, Jr. are two of the significant Pro Stock names who are looking for sponsors.
With that summary, let’s recap today’s stories for the 2008 Winternationals….
Brand-new Top Fuel rookie and fan favorite Antron Brown comes off the starting line with an authoritative 4.495 at 331.61 mph to take the Top Fuel pole at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.
“I saw [Larry] Dixon run a 4.49 in front of us and Lee [Beard, crew chief] came back over and jumped in the [timing] box and I saw Alan Johnson [Army crew chief] do the same thing and I said, ‘Oh man, it’s good out there, they’re putting the screws to me,’ ” Brown said. “But I was already happy because by then I knew we had qualified and I’d be racing Sunday so the rest was a bonus.
“The whole weekend is crazy and it’s getting more and more insane. We got back to the pits and this big crowd was there chanting my name. I was like, check this out, we got our own cheering section. It’s just such a wild deal and to be No. 1 is just an awesome deal for the entire Matco team.”
In Funny Car, the big money of the major racing operations weren’t enough to overcome Cinderella Tim Wilkerson’s determined drive in his budget-conscious Levi, Ray & Shoup Impala. He’s come out of nowhere before, but it makes quite a splash when it’s a 4.790 at 325.22 mph in the final qualifying session for the first race of the season.
“We’re obviously pretty happy with that run,” said Wilkerson. “We left some on the table this morning and we knew we had some room to improve this afternoon, so we were ready with three tuning scenarios depending on whether we were in the show or not when we ran. When we knew we couldn’t get bumped out we went for the throat and it worked.
“This is partly the result of our new alliance with [Don] Prudhomme. I’ve been over to his shop numerous times working on their blower and clutch dynos and learned a lot. I’ve had a good relationship with [Prudhomme crew chief] Donnie Bender for a long time, so it’s a good fit. Working with them increases my chances of running better everywhere we go instead of just sporadically. That and Dick Levi’s support will take us a long way this year.”
Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson set a double track record with a 6.629 at 209.39 mph at the race that he won in 2007.
“We thought that as the weekend went along and the track got better that we’d be able to improve and we did,” Anderson said. “You always want it to go that way but we all know that anything can happen. This time we did our job, although I’m still trying to figure out the right-hand lane because we can’t do anything over there.
“Still, there’re more positives than negatives. We’re at Pomona and we’re the No. 1 qualifier so that’s a pretty doggone good way to start the year. I can see already that it’s going to take an exceptional effort to earn that championship trophy back because there are so many great cars in this class once again.”
Final eliminations begin at 11:00 am PST tomorrow, Sunday, 10 February and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Top Fuel final qualifying order
1. Antron Brown 4.495 (ET) 331.61 (mph)
2. Larry Dixon 4.497 325.14
3. Tony Schumacher 4.513 331.77
4. Morgan Lucas 4.514 333.33
5. Hillary Will 4.521 334.65
6. Alan Bradshaw 4.524 306.40
7. David Grubnic 4.530 318.62
8. Cory McClenathan 4.532 330.23
9. Brandon Bernstein 4.533 330.31
10. Rod Fuller 4.539 327.51
11. Doug Herbert 4.545 327.98
12. J.R. Todd 4.570 327.74
13. Bob Vandergriff 4.590 311.56
14. Doug Kalitta 4.615 319.67
15. Troy Buff 4.675 291.51
16. Urs Erbacher 4.859 310.05
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Steven Chrisman 4.932 291.51
Funny Car final qualifying order
1. Tim Wilkerson 4.790 (ET) 325.22 (mph)
2. Jerry Toliver 4.790 320.51
3. Melanie Troxel 4.810 327.90
4. Scott Kalitta 4.818 322.65
5. John Force 4.823 321.88
6. Ashley Force 4.828 309.77
7. Cruz Pedregon 4.830 321.27
8. Ron Capps 4.836 325.30
9. Robert Hight 4.837 319.14
10. Mike Neff 4.840 321.65
11. Bob Bode 4.841 316.01
12. Tony Pedregon 4.845 325.45
13. Gary Scelzi 4.845 322.27
14. Bob Tasca III 4.845 321.42
15. Jack Beckman 4.864 295.72
16. Gary Densham 4.866 316.75
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Jim Head 4.875 325.06
18. Mike Ashley 4.899 323.66
19. Tommy Johnson Jr. 4.917 313.51
20. Terry Haddock 5.267 206.04
21. James Day 5.447 218.55
22. Tony Bartone 5.679 174.10
23. Del Worsham 7.733 317.79
Pro Stock final qualifying order
1. Greg Anderson 6.629@ (ET) 209.39& (mph)
2. Jeg Coughlin 6.644 208.23
3. Kurt Johnson 6.644 208.62
4. Warren Johnson 6.652 209.04
5. Allen Johnson 6.652 208.30
6. Jason Line 6.656 208.81
7. Justin Humphreys 6.660 207.94
8. Greg Stanfield 6.661 207.85
9. Max Naylor 6.671 206.92
10. V. Gaines 6.684 206.61
11. Bill Glidden 6.694 206.92
12. Matt Hartford 6.695 206.48
13. Kenny Koretsky 6.704 206.32
14. Mike Edwards 6.711 206.51
15. Ron Krisher 6.715 206.67
16. Johnny Gray 6.718 205.79
——— Not Qualified ———
17. Tom Hammonds 6.721 207.37
18. Larry Morgan 6.725 205.63
19. Vinnie Deceglie 6.737 205.38
20. Ben Watson 6.737 204.76
21. Jim Yates 6.745 204.91
22. Gordie Rivera 6.770 205.29
@ = Track ET Record
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4 Responses to “Welcome back, speed freaks - it’s Winternationals”
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Welcome back John Force!!
Hope everthing is well for you and looking for a terrific season.Good luck to Ashley on her quest for rookie of the year
The power of the man his self is back and he did exactly what he said he would do. Welcome back John go kick some a.. !!
Welcome back John Force,glad your back to show the rest of them how it’s done.
hello im a long time force fan and im glad to see him and the girls back in the drivers seat good luck im dissapointed to see antron brown in a car im a long time prostar motorcycle pro et racer and that was a shock but go antron and best of luck