ST. LOUIS IS HOT, HOT, HOT

Photos by Jeff Burk and Jeff Leonard

Doug Kalitta won the Top Fuel final with a holeshot on Kenny Bernstein, who wanted to win for his St. Louis-based Budweiser sponsor. Sorry Kenny, no Bud's for you this time. (Hey, at least he wasn't beaten by the Miller Lite car.)

Doug Kalitta won his eighth career national event as his Mac Tools dragster covered the quarter-mile in 4.772 at 302.82 to defeat Kenny Bernstein who was late on the starting line despite running a quicker 4.756 at 309.13.

"Anytime you go up against Kenny (Bernstein), you have to be on your game," Kalitta said. "It's always nice to get by those guys (Bernstein and Tim Richards) for sure."

Kalitta picked up his third victory of the season and the first of his career at Gateway International Raceway. The win moved Kalitta ahead of Mike Dunn for the third spot in the NHRA Winston Top Fuel points race. Bernstein still leads the NHRA Winston Top Fuel points, 80 points in front of second place Larry Dixon.

MADISON IS UPSET CITY
When the Midwest heat is on, upsets come in bunches. Five of the top eight qualifiers in Top Fuel were gone after round one, with Scott Weis and Bobby Lagana Jr. scoring two of the biggest upsets. Weis took out Gary Scelzi when Scelzi smoked the tires, throwing a serious kink into Scelzi's recent surge back into contention for the Winston title. Lagana booted Ralph White's entry to a 4.80 and win over Mike Dunn who, like Scelzi, overpowered the overheated St. Louis surface. Lagana shed real tears of joy in the post race interview, and dedicated his win to his late mother, who passed away last December. --Jeff Leonard

In Funny Car, Johnny Gray beat No. 2 qualifier Tony Bartone. Local favorite from Springfield, Ill. and No. 11 qualifier Tim Wilkerson took out No. 6 quallfier Whit Bazemore. Brad Jeter slapped a hole-shot on the Pro Stock No. 4 qualifier Ron Krisher, while No. 12 qualifier Mark Pawuk took out the No. 5 qualifier Tom Martino.

THE PROFESSOR SHOWS 'EM HOW
Warren Johnson celebrated his 85th NHRA victory, tying Bob Glidden's long-standing record for career Pro Stock titles. Fresh from a victory in Columbus, Ohio, Johnson won the Sears Craftsman Nationals for the second time in five years and notched his fourth win of the season

Johnson, a lifelong student of the science of acceleration, taught his rivals a lesson in racecraft this weekend. He hit a grand slam with his new Grand Am, qualifying No. 1 at 6.865/200.65 mph and setting track records for elapsed time and top speed. Johnson topped 200 mph in every round of eliminations, dispatching John Nobile, Mike Edwards and Brad Jeter en route to his 133rd final round. He extended his final-round record in 2001 to a perfect 4-0 by defeating Jim Yates, 6.908/200.74 to 6.930/200.62. - Rick Voegelin

ROMINE BLAZES (AGAIN)
Paul Romine continued a recent trend in his first round race, one he would no doubt like to discontinue immediately. Plagued by recent fires and explosions, Romine outdid himself at St. Louis, riding out a big blaze in the shutdown area, and suffering second degree burns to his hands in the process. Interviewed later in the day, Romine was unsure how much time, if any, he would be sidelined. -JL

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