THREE TEAMS IN SOUTHERN NATIONALS FINALS, FORCE, ANDERSON AND SENSENEY PREVAIL
By Tim Glover
In spite of rains that delayed action several times on Saturday and Sunday, the 25th Annual NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, presented by Pontiac, was completed late Sunday evening. The upside of the delays for racing fans packing the grandstands on both sides of the track was three straight evenings of Powerade Top Fuel racing under the lights, an incredible sensory experience.
Spectators also enjoyed viewing and buying an incredible array of go fast merchandise on the manufacturer's midway. They were given the opportunity to go through the huge interactive Powerade display, where fans got a chance to drive a Funny Car simulator during the Fan Nationals along with other entertainment. Summit Racing had a huge "Bigfoot" Summit truck on display, along with many of their catalog items. The Army had a display with a rock climbing wall, personalized "dogtags" and a simulator. Fans got to get up close and personal with all the drivers, and really enjoyed watching their favorite teams test fire their 8000 horsepower Top Fuel engines from a distance of a few yards.
Doug Kalitta increased his Top Fuel dragster points total to 587 by winning his 21st NHRA national event, against David Baca. Kalitta laid down a good 4.56 at 325.69mph to take the win, while Baca's car apparently threw the supercharger belt down track and slowed to a 4.85 at 232.39mph. Kalitta won round one with a 4.55 against his up in smoke team mate Scott Kalitta, then benefited from a -.137 red light in round two against his other team mate, David Grubnic. He took on points rival and former champion Tony Schumacher in round three, beating Schumacher at both ends of the track, using a .041 to .073 react, and then taking the finish line with a quicker 4.53, 327.43mph to Schumacher's 4.54 at 325.37mph. "It's tough out there, between the tree, the track, and all those other tuners," added Kalitta. Tony Schumacher and Brandon Bernstein were the semi-final finishers.
Funny Car racer John Force downplayed his first round defeat of arch rival Whit Bazemore, saying it was just another round. However, the first round win gave Force the opportunity to regain the points from Bazemore. Force defeated former employee Tony Pedregon in round two, and then took out Pedregon's brother, Cruz, in round three en route to his final against team mate and son in law Robert Hight, who enjoyed his second final round appearance in only seven races. Since Hight had 454 points and Force had 469 coming in to the final, the winner would also take over the points lead. At the conclusion of the event, Force left the Southern Nationals with the lead at 489 points, leaving Bazemore second (465points) and Hight third (454 points).
The only team agreement in the Funny Car final was that both would shallow stage to get the quickest possible elapsed times on the scoreboard. Force squeaked out the win with his best run of the weekend, a 4.772 at 325.61mph, which turned out to be the low ET of the weekend in Funny Car. Hight out reacted Force, .097 to .119 seconds, at the starting line, but his otherwise great 4.796 at 323.04mph put him .0021 seconds (about 12 inches at 320 plus mph) behind the boss at the finish line. Force also earned the Motel 6 "Who Got The Light" award for winning the closest race of the weekend on a holeshot. Hight steadily improved during the event, moving from the low 4.80s to a 4.798 in the semi-finals. Force, who qualified at 4.81 seconds, was also running in the 4.80 range all day. He said crew chief Austin Coil went for broke in the final, and Force needed every bit of the advantage to take the win. "I was not giving up until it exploded," added an excited Force. Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon earned the semi-finalist portion of the purse.
The last two rounds in Pro Stock featured two different teams, the team of Greg Anderson and Jason Line, and the team of Warren and Kurt Johnson. The Anderson / Line team defeated the Johnson team during the semi-final round. Greg Anderson used a holeshot (.049 second react to Line's .060 react) in his Summit backed '05 Pontiac Grand Am to win his sponsor's race, edging out team mate Jason Line's similarly prepared '05 Pontiac Grand Am. The reaction time advantage won the race, as both ran identical 6.781 elapsed times in the final. Anderson recorded a 202.61mph, while Line actually was a little faster, at 203.83mph. This weekend's appearance was Anderson's fifth consecutive Southern Nationals final. Anderson said he had been struggling with his car for several weeks, so he was planning to park the race winning car, take over Jason Line's car, and put Line into his 2004 car. "We would be a liar if we didn't say there's something special about running each other," referring to his former boss and semi-finalist Warren Johnson. "He's had my number all year."
Two Harley's faced off in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. G.T. Tonglet won his first race since 2002 (only his second NHRA win ever) by flat outrunning Chris Rivas from Fresno, CA. Rivas did his job, reacting quicker with a .024 (to Tonglet's .089). However, Tonglet's '04 V-Rod was too much, running 7.10 at 186.30mph. Rivas came in second with an otherwise good 7.24 at 184.67mph. Geno Scali ('01 Suzuki) and Craig Treble ('98 Suzuki) finished their day in the heartbreak round. During his post race interview, Tonglet was informed his brother, L.E. had also won a motorcycle race that evening, in Hattiesburg, MS. "I still don't really believe it. I guess it (the NHRA Southern Nationals victory) will sink in by the morning," added a happy
Tonglet. When asked about his late react, Tonglet said he had some very close lights in qualifying, and the last thing he wanted to do was go red.
Every Sportsman class, with the exception of Top Alcohol Funny Car, was won by a racer with at least an associate sponsorship from Valvoline. Many Valvoline winner's circle caps were given out during the picture taking session.
"Marvelous. Simply marvelous," was what Top Alcohol Dragster winner Rich McPhillips of Phoenixville, PA thought when he saw final round opponent Karen Benkovich's car shut off in the final. (The air gap had not been set in the clutch, so the car was unable to reverse after the burnout.) Knowing he had his first ever NHRA win in his pocket, McPhillips turned in an early shutoff 5.80 at only 186.23mph. McPhillips had a rough time just getting to the race, with his tow truck transmission giving up the ghost in North Carolina. After numerous phone calls, they located a transmission and made it to the track late Friday evening. They made it to the last qualifier session Saturday morning and then earned holeshot victories in rounds one and two. After the winner's circle pictures, McPhillips realized his tow rig was out of gas, but by that point he was so elated with the victory he didn't care. Benkovich, who came from Fanwood, NJ, was happy to make it to the final. Prior to this weekend, she had never won a round in NHRA competition. Her car suffered some breakage after its semi-final win, but McPhillips was aware of the problem, and waited for Benkovich's crew to repair the car before going to the final. Ashley Force (yes, she is John Force's daughter) of Yorba Linda, CA and Dick Garlets (Odessa, TX), were the semi-final pair. Garlets, who actually qualified 17th, got in to eliminations due to NHRA's breakage rule. Local racer Dan Lucas from Cumming, GA had qualified for the race, but his engine "dropped a valve", causing enough damage that Lucas could not make the call for round one.
Morganville, NJ racer Frank Manzo has won several Top Alcohol Funny Car championships with his '02 Firebird, and has always been a top player. His opponents made it easier for him today, with Jay Payne being the only one giving him a serious challenge. Manzo had a competition bye run in round one, enjoyed the round two win when Chuck Cheeseman didn't make the call, defeated Payne in round three, and then had a final round single after Bobby Martin's Beaver Falls, PA based '01 Avenger broke. Manzo still ran an all out 5.62 at 254.33mph pass in the final for the fans. Jay Payne (Claremont, CA - '02 Camaro) and Bob Newberry ('05 Monte Carlo - Schenectady, NY) were the semi-final pair.
Mike Tueffel of Greensboro, NC enjoyed the Super Stock win with his Greensboro, NC based '98 Grand Am. Tueffel got the automatic win when opponent Scott Stillings ('99 Grand Am - Indianapolis, IN) fouled out with a so-close, but still red, -.006 react. Tueffels 8.81 at 153.30 (8.80 dial) would have been tough to beat anyway. Knowing his chance was gone, Stillings
coasted to a 17.29 at 47.56mph (8.85 target). Michael Iacono ('89 Camaro - Wading River, NY) was the lone semi-finalist.
Mark Faul, a standout Stock racer from Tacoma, WA, earned the win with a .009 react in his '69 Chevelle. Faul tightened up the finish line, slowing his car to an 11.06 at 114.14mph (11.01 dial), but still crossing .018 seconds ahead of final round victim Tex Miller ('71 Mustang - Fayetteville, PA). Because of a late .071 react, Miller's dead on 11.008 at 117.50mph was still not good enough for the win and the trophy. Eric Waldo ('69 Mustang - Richland, WA) was the single semi-final finisher.
Super Comp winner Todd Senseney's new car was not ready, so he borrowed local racer David Tatum III's spare Valvoline backed '02 Mullis dragster to compete at the Southern Nationals. Little did Tatum know that he would end up facing Senseney, who comes from Clarksville, TN, in the final. "Coming in to the final, I knew my other car was going down the track. That Mullis car is mean," said Tatum, the runner up and owner of both Valvoline dragsters. Tatum, who was also in the Super Gas final, lost his chance to double up after his Valvoline '02 Undercover dragster lost traction, and slowed to an 11.43 at 82.16mph. Senseney went on to a great 8.93 at 146.61mph (8.90 index). Ken Moses ('03 Quay dragster - Colonia, NJ) earned the semi-final portion of the purse.
David Tatum III of Palmetto, GA did enjoy victory, with the '04 Cavalier Super Gas car he borrowed from David Watson. "Coming in, I wouldn't have given a plugged nickel for my chances at winning," added a happy Tatum. He then thanked Valvoline, Sherman Adcock, Steve Cohen, his girlfriend and David Watson for helping with the victory. Tatum ran a close 9.93 at
158.86mph (9.90 index) for the win against Ray Sawyer ('02 Camaro - Acton, MA). Sawyer slowed to a 10.15 at 141.83mph in the final. McNeal Freeman's '27 Roadster got loose in the semi-finals, where his day ended, along with Joe DeLuco from Seffner, FL, the other semi-final finisher.
Tony Fuller, brother of Top Fuel racer Rod Fuller, enjoyed his first Southern Nationals win, in Super Street. Due to budget constraints, Rod, who runner upped in Top Fuel at Bristol, had to skip the Atlanta race, leaving brother Tony to "take up the slack." Tony did not disappoint, winning Super Street with his Ouiedo, FL based '69 Firebird. The car has a good pedigree,
being formerly owned by top notch racer Scotty Richardson. Fuller reacted first with a .020, and then nailed the 10.90 index with a 10.904 at 136.76mph pass. Jeff Blardinelli from Vero Beach, FL broke out trying to win the race, running 10.889 at 140.14mph. Local racer Lamar Majors, who runnered up during the 2004 Southern Nationals, was the lone semi-finalist
with his '71 Vega.
Wanda Glover photos
2005 Southern Nationals photos
In spite of rains that delayed action several times on Saturday and Sunday, the 25th Annual NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, presented by Pontiac, was completed late Sunday evening. The upside of the delays for racing fans packing the grandstands on both sides of the track was three straight evenings of Powerade Top Fuel racing under the lights, an incredible sensory experience.
Spectators also enjoyed viewing and buying an incredible array of go fast merchandise on the manufacturer's midway. They were given the opportunity to go through the huge interactive Powerade display, where fans got a chance to drive a Funny Car simulator during the Fan Nationals along with other entertainment. Summit Racing had a huge "Bigfoot" Summit truck on display, along with many of their catalog items. The Army had a display with a rock climbing wall, personalized "dogtags" and a simulator. Fans got to get up close and personal with all the drivers, and really enjoyed watching their favorite teams test fire their 8000 horsepower Top Fuel engines from a distance of a few yards.
Doug Kalitta increased his Top Fuel dragster points total to 587 by winning his 21st NHRA national event, against David Baca. Kalitta laid down a good 4.56 at 325.69mph to take the win, while Baca's car apparently threw the supercharger belt down track and slowed to a 4.85 at 232.39mph. Kalitta won round one with a 4.55 against his up in smoke team mate Scott Kalitta, then benefited from a -.137 red light in round two against his other team mate, David Grubnic. He took on points rival and former champion Tony Schumacher in round three, beating Schumacher at both ends of the track, using a .041 to .073 react, and then taking the finish line with a quicker 4.53, 327.43mph to Schumacher's 4.54 at 325.37mph. "It's tough out there, between the tree, the track, and all those other tuners," added Kalitta. Tony Schumacher and Brandon Bernstein were the semi-final finishers.
Funny Car racer John Force downplayed his first round defeat of arch rival Whit Bazemore, saying it was just another round. However, the first round win gave Force the opportunity to regain the points from Bazemore. Force defeated former employee Tony Pedregon in round two, and then took out Pedregon's brother, Cruz, in round three en route to his final against team mate and son in law Robert Hight, who enjoyed his second final round appearance in only seven races. Since Hight had 454 points and Force had 469 coming in to the final, the winner would also take over the points lead. At the conclusion of the event, Force left the Southern Nationals with the lead at 489 points, leaving Bazemore second (465points) and Hight third (454 points).
The only team agreement in the Funny Car final was that both would shallow stage to get the quickest possible elapsed times on the scoreboard. Force squeaked out the win with his best run of the weekend, a 4.772 at 325.61mph, which turned out to be the low ET of the weekend in Funny Car. Hight out reacted Force, .097 to .119 seconds, at the starting line, but his otherwise great 4.796 at 323.04mph put him .0021 seconds (about 12 inches at 320 plus mph) behind the boss at the finish line. Force also earned the Motel 6 "Who Got The Light" award for winning the closest race of the weekend on a holeshot. Hight steadily improved during the event, moving from the low 4.80s to a 4.798 in the semi-finals. Force, who qualified at 4.81 seconds, was also running in the 4.80 range all day. He said crew chief Austin Coil went for broke in the final, and Force needed every bit of the advantage to take the win. "I was not giving up until it exploded," added an excited Force. Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon earned the semi-finalist portion of the purse.
The last two rounds in Pro Stock featured two different teams, the team of Greg Anderson and Jason Line, and the team of Warren and Kurt Johnson. The Anderson / Line team defeated the Johnson team during the semi-final round. Greg Anderson used a holeshot (.049 second react to Line's .060 react) in his Summit backed '05 Pontiac Grand Am to win his sponsor's race, edging out team mate Jason Line's similarly prepared '05 Pontiac Grand Am. The reaction time advantage won the race, as both ran identical 6.781 elapsed times in the final. Anderson recorded a 202.61mph, while Line actually was a little faster, at 203.83mph. This weekend's appearance was Anderson's fifth consecutive Southern Nationals final. Anderson said he had been struggling with his car for several weeks, so he was planning to park the race winning car, take over Jason Line's car, and put Line into his 2004 car. "We would be a liar if we didn't say there's something special about running each other," referring to his former boss and semi-finalist Warren Johnson. "He's had my number all year."
Two Harley's faced off in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. G.T. Tonglet won his first race since 2002 (only his second NHRA win ever) by flat outrunning Chris Rivas from Fresno, CA. Rivas did his job, reacting quicker with a .024 (to Tonglet's .089). However, Tonglet's '04 V-Rod was too much, running 7.10 at 186.30mph. Rivas came in second with an otherwise good 7.24 at 184.67mph. Geno Scali ('01 Suzuki) and Craig Treble ('98 Suzuki) finished their day in the heartbreak round. During his post race interview, Tonglet was informed his brother, L.E. had also won a motorcycle race that evening, in Hattiesburg, MS. "I still don't really believe it. I guess it (the NHRA Southern Nationals victory) will sink in by the morning," added a happy
Tonglet. When asked about his late react, Tonglet said he had some very close lights in qualifying, and the last thing he wanted to do was go red.
Every Sportsman class, with the exception of Top Alcohol Funny Car, was won by a racer with at least an associate sponsorship from Valvoline. Many Valvoline winner's circle caps were given out during the picture taking session.
"Marvelous. Simply marvelous," was what Top Alcohol Dragster winner Rich McPhillips of Phoenixville, PA thought when he saw final round opponent Karen Benkovich's car shut off in the final. (The air gap had not been set in the clutch, so the car was unable to reverse after the burnout.) Knowing he had his first ever NHRA win in his pocket, McPhillips turned in an early shutoff 5.80 at only 186.23mph. McPhillips had a rough time just getting to the race, with his tow truck transmission giving up the ghost in North Carolina. After numerous phone calls, they located a transmission and made it to the track late Friday evening. They made it to the last qualifier session Saturday morning and then earned holeshot victories in rounds one and two. After the winner's circle pictures, McPhillips realized his tow rig was out of gas, but by that point he was so elated with the victory he didn't care. Benkovich, who came from Fanwood, NJ, was happy to make it to the final. Prior to this weekend, she had never won a round in NHRA competition. Her car suffered some breakage after its semi-final win, but McPhillips was aware of the problem, and waited for Benkovich's crew to repair the car before going to the final. Ashley Force (yes, she is John Force's daughter) of Yorba Linda, CA and Dick Garlets (Odessa, TX), were the semi-final pair. Garlets, who actually qualified 17th, got in to eliminations due to NHRA's breakage rule. Local racer Dan Lucas from Cumming, GA had qualified for the race, but his engine "dropped a valve", causing enough damage that Lucas could not make the call for round one.
Morganville, NJ racer Frank Manzo has won several Top Alcohol Funny Car championships with his '02 Firebird, and has always been a top player. His opponents made it easier for him today, with Jay Payne being the only one giving him a serious challenge. Manzo had a competition bye run in round one, enjoyed the round two win when Chuck Cheeseman didn't make the call, defeated Payne in round three, and then had a final round single after Bobby Martin's Beaver Falls, PA based '01 Avenger broke. Manzo still ran an all out 5.62 at 254.33mph pass in the final for the fans. Jay Payne (Claremont, CA - '02 Camaro) and Bob Newberry ('05 Monte Carlo - Schenectady, NY) were the semi-final pair.
Mike Tueffel of Greensboro, NC enjoyed the Super Stock win with his Greensboro, NC based '98 Grand Am. Tueffel got the automatic win when opponent Scott Stillings ('99 Grand Am - Indianapolis, IN) fouled out with a so-close, but still red, -.006 react. Tueffels 8.81 at 153.30 (8.80 dial) would have been tough to beat anyway. Knowing his chance was gone, Stillings
coasted to a 17.29 at 47.56mph (8.85 target). Michael Iacono ('89 Camaro - Wading River, NY) was the lone semi-finalist.
Mark Faul, a standout Stock racer from Tacoma, WA, earned the win with a .009 react in his '69 Chevelle. Faul tightened up the finish line, slowing his car to an 11.06 at 114.14mph (11.01 dial), but still crossing .018 seconds ahead of final round victim Tex Miller ('71 Mustang - Fayetteville, PA). Because of a late .071 react, Miller's dead on 11.008 at 117.50mph was still not good enough for the win and the trophy. Eric Waldo ('69 Mustang - Richland, WA) was the single semi-final finisher.
Super Comp winner Todd Senseney's new car was not ready, so he borrowed local racer David Tatum III's spare Valvoline backed '02 Mullis dragster to compete at the Southern Nationals. Little did Tatum know that he would end up facing Senseney, who comes from Clarksville, TN, in the final. "Coming in to the final, I knew my other car was going down the track. That Mullis car is mean," said Tatum, the runner up and owner of both Valvoline dragsters. Tatum, who was also in the Super Gas final, lost his chance to double up after his Valvoline '02 Undercover dragster lost traction, and slowed to an 11.43 at 82.16mph. Senseney went on to a great 8.93 at 146.61mph (8.90 index). Ken Moses ('03 Quay dragster - Colonia, NJ) earned the semi-final portion of the purse.
David Tatum III of Palmetto, GA did enjoy victory, with the '04 Cavalier Super Gas car he borrowed from David Watson. "Coming in, I wouldn't have given a plugged nickel for my chances at winning," added a happy Tatum. He then thanked Valvoline, Sherman Adcock, Steve Cohen, his girlfriend and David Watson for helping with the victory. Tatum ran a close 9.93 at
158.86mph (9.90 index) for the win against Ray Sawyer ('02 Camaro - Acton, MA). Sawyer slowed to a 10.15 at 141.83mph in the final. McNeal Freeman's '27 Roadster got loose in the semi-finals, where his day ended, along with Joe DeLuco from Seffner, FL, the other semi-final finisher.
Tony Fuller, brother of Top Fuel racer Rod Fuller, enjoyed his first Southern Nationals win, in Super Street. Due to budget constraints, Rod, who runner upped in Top Fuel at Bristol, had to skip the Atlanta race, leaving brother Tony to "take up the slack." Tony did not disappoint, winning Super Street with his Ouiedo, FL based '69 Firebird. The car has a good pedigree,
being formerly owned by top notch racer Scotty Richardson. Fuller reacted first with a .020, and then nailed the 10.90 index with a 10.904 at 136.76mph pass. Jeff Blardinelli from Vero Beach, FL broke out trying to win the race, running 10.889 at 140.14mph. Local racer Lamar Majors, who runnered up during the 2004 Southern Nationals, was the lone semi-finalist
with his '71 Vega.
Wanda Glover photos
2005 Southern Nationals photos
posted by David @ 3:07 AM
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