Drag Racing Online - Tocher Talks Vol. IV No. 2 February 2002

FEARLESS PREDICTION COLUMN

photos by Ian Tocher

The New England Patriots' win in the Super Bowl should give hope to all the underdogs trying to knock off the defending IHRA pro champions. And almost everyone else is an underdog! At first glance, there's no reason why any of the 2001 winners can't repeat, but inevitably, some will stumble and we'll probably have at least a couple of new champs to toast when the clutch dust settles in October.

That's not going to happen in Top Fuel, though, where Clay Millican and crew chief Mike Kloeber clearly ruled the roost after posting six straight wins in the middle of last season to beat the 26-year-old consecutive Top Fuel win record. This one you can take to the bank; Millican will win the most races and the championship again. Sure, the usual suspects -- Paul Romine and Bruce Litton -- are all likely good for a win or two this season, but probably only when Millican's missile suffers a flameout.

Clay Millican will be looking to continue wiping up the competition in IHRA Top Fuel this year.

I hate to say it, but the rest of the IHRA Top Fuel class seems to be little more than first-round fodder for these guys. Only twice last year in 10 races did anyone infiltrate the quartet's final-round appearance record, and both were losing causes for Louie Allison against Millican. I just don't think much will change here until a few more quality (read "well-funded") entries are in the staging lanes.

I think Doug Vancil, IHRA's other fuel champion, is also set to repeat. He seems to have hit stride on his Nitro Harley and found the consistency that eluded him the previous two years. Vancil undoubtedly will have to fend off Steve Stordeur again, who's still seeking his own reliability on raceday, and I think two-time champ Jay Turner will challenge for supremacy, too. Still, I've got to go with Vancil -- if only to give him another chance at making an acceptance speech at next year's banquet. How can a guy who routinely goes 220 mph on a motorcycle get so nervous about talking to a group of friendly faces?

Pro Mod, as usual, is more difficult to call because there are just so many legitimate contenders. I don't think anyone saw Mike Janis coming last year until it was too late, but he won't have the advantage of obscurity in 2002, so I suspect it'll be a little tougher for him to build up that early points lead. On the other hand, Janis was running strong at season's end (he won three of the last five races and was in all five finals!), so he did still have his momentum. I just think there's too many variables and equally determined rivals to expect him to continue dominating.

Then there's Alan Pittman, who definitely lacked consistency after winning two of the first three events last year, but I think is getting better behind the wheel almost every time out. Like so many others, if Pittman can get that consistency thing under control, he'll be a factor for the lead. Same thing goes for Quain Stott, but he's given himself an even tougher challenge by bringing on new tuners and intending to run both a blower and nitrous car, depending on conditions. That flexibility sounds good in the planning stages, but it'll be interesting to see if it actually works on the track. I tend to think it might be worth a couple of wins for Stott, but there won't be a championship check with his name on it at the banquet next year.

With a concentrated effort on IHRA, Fred Hahn could streak to the top of the Pro Mod points list in 2002.

On the other hand, 2000 champion Fred Hahn and team owner Jim Oddy finally figured out their new ride halfway through the 2001 campaign and started putting Hahn's name back in the win column. I sense that Hahn and Oddy dearly want that number 1 back on their car, although I have to wonder how much starring in the NHRA Pro Mod series will help or hinder their IHRA effort. If they put their minds to winning in IHRA, though, I'd pencil them in now as 2002 Pro Mod champions.

Funny Car may be the one class where the current champ is not the favorite. Mark Thomas had a great year in 2001, winning three times and effectively wrapping up the title with two races to go, (though it wasn't mathematically secured until he qualified for the final event), but his team chemistry has been disturbed. Thomas' crew chief Jim Lape agreed to consult on tuning Quain Stott's Pro Mod at the races this year, meaning Lape's attention will be split between two winning teams in two distinct classes at each and ever race. I don't care what positive spin is placed on this story; I can't see it being a positive for Thomas' chances to repeat.

Second-place finisher Jimmy Rector also enjoyed a multiple-win season in 2001 and should be a contender again this year, along with 2001 Pro Rookie of the Year John Vouros, who I expect to break through with a win in 2002.

None of these drivers had the most impressive year in the class, though. That honor went instead to Dale Brand, who once he figured out how to get down the track without blowing anything up, became the force to be reckoned with. Brand won four races in 2001, including the last two, and stated that the 2001 season was just a tune-up for this one. I believe him. And that's why I expect he'll be your 2002 Funny Car champion.

Finally, there's Pro Stock, another tough one to call, though it's tempting to stick with Gene Wilson after he had one of the most dominating seasons in drag racing history. Wilson won eight of 11 events last year in his Charlie Hunt-owned Mustang, after appearing in nine final rounds. His team has been tinkered with in the off season too, however, with a new engine supplier, a new teammate from a rival manufacturer's camp, and he'll be sharing crew chief Gary Henry with that rival. This is another case where it may work out great -- but there's also that potential for disaster. Either way, I think the distractions will make Wilson at least "beatable" to his competitors, something that didn't appear very likely very often last season.

Wilson's new Chevy-motivated teammate John Montecalvo certainly is capable of winning races and perhaps even challenging for the championship, but I think he'll fall short for the same reasons as Wilson. Plus, both drivers insist there'll be no team orders if and when they meet on the line, but who can believe that if it gets down to the short strokes and one or the other can benefit more in the title chase? It would just be smart racing for the team at that point to predetermine a winner, but it's an unknown at this time how either of these ultra-competitive racers will react. I think I won't be the only one watching this set-up to see how the chemistry evolves.

Ron Miller, Carl Baker, and Chris Holbrook (the 1999 Pro Stock champ who finally looks like he's got a ride befitting his talents again) should all be near the top of the points list throughout 2002, but I'm going with Brian Gahm -- a two-time winner in 2001 ---- as my Pro Stock pick. Gahm is another guy who seems to be constantly improving as a driver. I have to admit I didn't notice him much early last season, but by the end of the year, Gahm had it going and everyone was taking notice!

Dale Brand was on a roll as 2001 drew to close; now he appears set to lay waste to the IHRA Funny Car field.

I've never gone on record with predictions before, and granted, I haven't gone out on much of a limb here, but it'll be interesting to see how this all pans out eight months or so from now. Let me know if you think I'm all wrong or dead on with an e-mail to response@racingnetsource.com. (And to any and all of you eventual class champions whom I didn't even mention: I promise to include you in the favorites for 2003!)

P.S. In December, I complained about the lack of an IHRA television package, but said I'd be among the first to congratulate IHRA President Bill Bader if he came up with a decent TV deal for 2002. Well, he did, but I didn't, so I'll do it now: "Congratulations, Bill!"

At the awards banquet in Louisville, KY, last month, Bader announced that TNN will carry 25 hours of original IHRA programming this year, showing races in two one-hour segments just seven or 14 days after each event. In addition, he said that IHRA will have a routine weekly presence on Fox Sports Net's Motor Sports Weekly show. This truly is the best TV package in IHRA history and all parties concerned deserve heartfelt kudos.

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