THE NHRA WORLD FINALS
KINGS (AND A QUEEN) GO
FORTH
By Chris Martin
11/16/04
I’m just about positive that I’ve
used the above headline before. It’s from an old
movie starring Frank Sinatra and Tony Curtis about a three-cornered
love affair in WWII France. I just love the way it sounds.
I use the term to mean that “the boss” shows
up back at the office and he or she reasserts their authority.
In times of pressure, when great performances are needed “kings” do
indeed step to the fore.
Certainly that’s the case with pro winners Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel),
John Force (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock). In one of the best World
Finals events I’ve ever attended, all three repelled serious challenges
to their personal grand finales. Schumacher fought back the obvious emotionally-charged
challenge of Morgan Lucas, the replacement for the late Darrell Russell in
Joe Amato’s rig. Force took out Del Worsham’s Checker/Schuck’s/Kragen
Chevy, and Anderson beat teammate Jason Line in a race between the two most
powerful Pontiac Grand Ams in the world.
In addition, Chip Ellis made me a Pro Stock Bike fan for at least one race
when he blistered the old Pomona asphalt with an unprecedented 7.02 in qualifying
for No. 1. Six-seconds on friggin’ two wheels!! Then a queen stepped
forth, one Angelle Savoie, who dropped him in the semis and then buried Antron
Brown in the final with a fabulous 7.03.
For me, the highlight of the show was Saturday night qualifying. Now that I’m
somewhat on the sidelines and can make only “selected national events” (as
independent racers used to say in ND’s “What’s New” features),
I really forgot how much I miss the nitro burners at night. The only other
time that I’ve seen them this year was at Indy.
In the final Funny Car qualifying session, the “floppers” put on
what was probably their best show of the year. Of the 16 cars in the qualifying
session, nine did the trick that night and in doing so put on some of the quickest
side-by-side races ever.
Highlights for me really kicked in when about eight of the 26 cars were left.
Up to that point, Worsham’s CSK ride was running just a wee bit better
than Force and the rest of the field. They'd been No. 1 throughout qualifying,
hunkered down safely in the low 4.70s and looking for all the world like they’d
give the Castrol guys a lot to think about over the winter …and regardless
of the result I think that’s still true. However, consider the following.
With eight left, (I hope the order is right as I don’t have the sheets
in front of me), Los Hermanos Pedregon came up and blitzed the timers; Tony
-4.73, 316.01, Cruz – 4.77, 320.97. Right there, you have one of probably
the quickest side-by-sides ever.
Next, Gary Scelzi and Phil Burkhart pair up, Oakley versus CSK number two,
and the results, Scelzi -4.72, 326.00 to P.B.’s 4.75, 327.11.
At this moment, anticipation was high for either the West Coast’s first
4.6-second lap or 330-mph lap. The air was cool, the track was dialed-in … hell,
the surf was up. If you had it in the car … this was the time.
Force’s soon-to-be elsewhere driver, Indy boss Gary Densham really stretched
one out on his lap, carding a fantastic 4.706 at Top Speed of the Meet, 329.75
mph. Just missed the two above stated goals, I thought. However, it truly set
the stage for what would prove to be the quickest side-by-side Funny Car challenge
ever.
Worsham had outrun his opponents in every session, and he would be alongside
the guy who was most capable of preventing a sweep, the now 14-time Funny Car
Champion John Force.
The pair took off with 10-foot flames looking like giant capital “Vs” coming
at you and whetting the appetite for history. In the last 200 feet, Force pulled
away from Worsham carding a 4.698, 329.18 to edge D.W.’s 4.728, 329.67.
My thoughts? I missed both Chicago races this year and right now, I feel Route
66 is this generation’s Texas Motorplex or Fremont Raceway. It’s
NHRA’s quickest course. However, this one session made up for those two
gaps in my calendar.
One of the disconcerting things for me at national events has been the fact
that at least 80 percent of the time, the low elapsed times and top speeds
have been set on Friday. For a performance buff like me, it almost makes the
actual race anticlimactic. At the Finals, this trend was reversed and I couldn’t
have been happier. The performances beginning on Thursday improved right through
Saturday night; naturally, things calmed down a little during eliminations.
If I had one disappointment, it was missing Mitch Meyers’ 5.11 on Friday
I(or was that Thursday .. or in fact did it even happen at all?) with his unblown
nitro dragster. In breaking Gary Ormsby Jr.'s 5.13 best from a few years back,
Meyers subtly drove home the point that one of the bigger NHRA performance
achievements is waiting in the wings … the first A/FD four-second run.
And maybe at the upcoming Winternationals, a 5.0 will crop up. I say this on
an optimistic note. Weather permitting, Savoie or Ellis will hit the sixes
on two wheels-- who'd've thunk it.
C. Bley Al Zarqawi
