Kalitta, Pedregon, Connolly and Brown win at the 2006 Southern Nationals
by Tim Glover
Photos
Rain held up the 2006 edition of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals action temporarily both Friday and Sunday, but simply didn't have the power to stop the ground pounding, 300mph race cars at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA. In fact, after Sunday's five hour rain delay, the track was faster than ever, with new track record times of 4.448 seconds and 331.28mph set by Top Fuel Dragster racer Tony Schumacher in round one of competition. Number one Top Fuel Funny Car qualifier John Force set a new track record of 4.686 in qualifying, only to have it eclipsed by team mate Robert Hight, who carded a 4.680 second pass in round one. Greg Anderson set a new track record ET of 6.704 seconds in qualifying, only to have it surpassed five times during eliminations, the first time by Erica Enders, who reset the record to 6.693 seconds. Warren "The Professor" Johnson, who lives in nearby Sugar Hill, reset the Pro Stock mph track record to 205.79mph, and kept it by running 206.20mph in round one, fending off three other passes in round one that were faster than 205.79mph. Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Antron Brown (Team Army Suzuki) reset the track record to 7.080 seconds in qualifying, and eight of the elimination passes bettered that time. Fortunately for Brown, he lowered the record to 7.045 in round one, which held for the event.
Two local racers, Bob Vandergriff (UPS Top Fuel Dragster) and Dan Lucas (Top Alcohol Dragster) qualified in their fields, with Vandergriff at the #13 spot in the 16 car field, and Lucas at #16, on the bump spot. Vandergriff had the better reaction time in round one, leading his opponent Melanie Troxel past the 330 foot mark, and made his best pass of the weekend, a 4.602 second, 318.77mph effort. However, Troxel, crossed the win stripe five hundredths of a second in front of Vandergriff with a 4.513 second, 326.63mph effort. Dan Lucas' machine hurt its engine in the last qualifier pass, and he did not make the call for round one. Vandergriff's family, who run the Hedman Hedders company in south Forsyth County, presented the $1000 Hedman Hedders Best Engineered Vehicle award to the Mopar powered '32 Bantam Competition Eliminator race car belonging to Keith Roberts of Mooresville, N.C.
"On a Holeshot," nearly became a mantra for the race announcers. More competition passes than usual in the top four professional classes were won by the slower machine, due to faster reaction times by the winning drivers. Two holeshot victories were scored in Top Fuel Funny Car, both by event winner Tony Pedregon, who singlehandedly took out all three of the John Force team race cars, beginning in round two and ending in the final with a holeshot victory against Team Force racer Robert Hight. Pedregon carded a 4.740 second pass, and his .067 second react made the difference after Robert Hight had a slightly slower .078 react, negating the advantage of his slightly quicker 4.738 second pass. As expected, Pro Stock featured the most holeshot wins, five. The final round Event winner Antron Brown also won the final round on a holeshot, beating Andrew Hines' '04 V-Rod with a 7.098 second pass, against Hines' quicker, but losing, 7.089 second pass. Brown's react, .005 seconds, was key, as Hines was just OK with a .034 react.
Doug Kalitta won Top Fuel last week at Bristol, and continued his charge to the finish line in Top Fuel Dragster. Kalitta had a scare after his round two when his parachutes did not deploy properly and he ended up in the sand pit at the end of the track. He managed to slow it down just before the sand trap by kicking the rear end out like a sprint car. However, his crew got everything ready by the next round and he never looked back. For the final, Kalitta faced Melanie Troxel, who has been on fire this year, making it to six final rounds in the first seven races and leading the points. Troxel lost the opportunity to gain 40 more points on Kalitta when her car started spinning the tires after the 100 foot mark, slowing her to a 7.234 seconds at 133.55mph. Kalitta would have been extremely hard to beat anyway, as he won the event with a 4.469 second, 327.59mph pass.
Thirteen time Top Fuel Funny Car champion John Force announced, "I've hired my own assassin," when his then hired gun Tony Pedregon won the Southern Nationals in 1996. His words proved prophetic, as Tony Pedregon defeated the entire Castrol Funny Car team on race day ten years later with his '05 Quaker State Monte Carlo, during the last three rounds of Funny Car competition. Although his car was not quite as quick, Pedregon's driving skills won two of the three matches against the Force team. "If I had any friends left in the Force camp before, they are no more. When I looked at the (competition) ladder this morning, I thought, this won't be easy," said Pedregon". It wasn't easy, but Pedregon was persistent, winning round after round until the only car left was his. Hight's Team Force AAA '05 Mustang actually ran quicker with a 4.738 at 321.81mph, but his slower react allowed Pedregon to earn the win light with a 4.740 at 325.69mph. The semi-final pair included Eric Medlen (Team Force Castrol '05 Mustang) and Del Worsham ('05 CSK Monte Carlo).
Another member of Force's team, Eric Medlen, kept the crowd on their feet and around his pit area; using up three different bodies and superchargers in the first three rounds. Medlen won round one against Tim Wilkerson, but a top end blower explosion and subsequent fire damaged the Mustang Body beyond quick repair. Fans in the pits enjoyed watching the thrash to prepare for round two. They were so late that NHRA had to escort them through the starting line side gate, as the lanes were full of other classes of race cars. Medlen made it about 10 feet down track before a blower explosion took out the second body. Fortunately for Medlen, defending Powerade champion Gary Scelzi crossed the centerline, which is an automatic disqualification. Another thrash ensued, and again, Medlen had to use the side gate to make the semi-final round call. This time, Tony Pedregon simply outran Medlen, ending his day.
The Southern Nationals Pro Stock final set another record. At the conclusion of the 2006 Southern Nationals, seven different winners have graced the Pro Stock winner's circle of the first seven events in the 2006 season. Greg Stanfield, a former Comp Eliminator standout who qualified #16 by a mere .001 seconds for the 16 car field, had a shot at winning his first ever Pro
Stock race, and event winner Dave Connolly, who qualified 14th, was looking to win his sixth, and first of 2006. Normally, the #14 and #16 qualifier in any head up race class are first round fodder, but that was not the case in the 2006 Southern Nationals Pro Stock field. Stanfield faced none other than top qualifier and defending Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson in round one, and
simply took him out en route to his final against Connolly. Stanfield did his job on the starting line with his '06 GTO, reacting first with a stellar .014 second effort. Unfortunately for Stanfield, Connolly's '06 Cobalt chose that moment to unload its best run of the event, posting a 6.695 second, 205.69mph winning pass. Stanfield's car got loose mid track, and seeing this race was done, Stanfield wisely chose to lift off the throttle and coasted to a 7.53 second 127.34mph pass. Larry Morgan ('06 Stratus) and Jim Yates ('06 GTO) finished in the semi-final round. Connolly, who did not even qualify for the field in Bristol last week, said, "He (new crew chief Tommy
Utt) saved my butt several times today. I did my job in the first round, and he got the car better and better each pass," added Connolly.
Antron Brown used his US Army Suzuki to celebrate his 15th victory in 30 Pro Stock Motorcycle finals after taking out Andrew Hines' '04 Harley V-Rod on, you guessed it, a holeshot. Brown, who had won with a .007 react in the semi-finals, said he squeezed the clutch lever a little harder (to make sure he did not have a red light start), and was rewarded with a .005 react, coupled with a 7.098 second 187.44mph pass. He needed that to take the win
light after Hines posted a qucker and faster 7.089 second 187.94mph pass. Unfortunately for Hines, his .038 second starting line reaction time put him second across the top end stripe, 0.024 seconds behind Brown. The US Army Motorcycle team of Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown has now won all three of the 2006 Pro Stock Motorcycle events, with Sampey winning the first two, and Brown winning this one. Brown also moved into a slim six point Powerade
points lead with 272 points. Sampey, who was the leader, is now second with 266 points. "We RACED this year. I was glad my dad was here today to help. Also, my mom and dad's 36th wedding anniversary was this week. It was sure good," added a happy Antron Brown. Karen Stoffer and Michael Phillips finished their day in the semi-final round.
"They left it for the girl to handle," said Top Alcohol Dragster winner Ashley Force (daughter of 13 time Funny Car champion John Force) after taking the event win. Then she added, "It was really the five guys and one girl on the team who made it happen. I just didn't mess up too much." Ashley was the only 2006 Southern Nationals winner from the Force camp. Although
her car shook the tires hard down track, forcing her to lift momentarily off the throttle of her Yorba Linda, CA based dragster, it still ran a 5.57 at 267.80mph in the final against a red ighting Karen Stalba, who then chose to ease through the final with a 13.48 at 55.61mph. Mike Kosky from Cuddy, PA and John Finke of Selkirk, NY finished up in the semi-finals. Ashley then
mentioned she would be testing her new Top Fuel Funny Car the following day. She declined to mention when she would debut it in competition, but 2007 looks promising.
The Stock Eliminator winner was Bernie "The Aussie" Cunningham, who originally came from Australia (but currently resides in Riverside, CA). His brother Kevin, who came to America on a five month "walkabout" to help Bernie race, has visited three times, and coincidentally, Cunningham has won three times. His Valvoline backed '98 A/FIA Firebird survived a double break out race (where both drivers go quicker than their posted handicap time) with a 0.03 under 10.87 at 119.71mph (10.90 dial). Although he had the better reaction time, (.021 to .083), Scott Helms Crystal Springs, FL based '66 Impala seemed to have discovered some extra ET down track, and broke out more with a 0.08 under 13.78 at 96.05mph (13.86 target). The semi-finalists were Stock and Super Stock standout Dan Fletcher ('69 Camaro - Churchville, NY) and John Gray ('72 Nova - Hudson, MA).
The winner of Super Gas, Gene Norwood from Naples, FL, was simply glad to be there. He actually thought he was disqualified in round three due to a starting line miscue (both racers left the line before the "Christmas Tree" was activated). However, a recent rule change allowed Tharpe to be re-instated in competition because his opponent, Jay Davis, committed the
infraction first. With help and advice from RFC Pastor and experienced Super Gas racer Tom Ratliff, Tharpe went on to enjoy holding his very own "NHRA Wally" trophy after defeating Steve Farrow's unusual looking '57 Chevy roadster. Farrow had a perfect .000 second starting line react, but his car got loose downtrack, forcing him to lift off the throttle and watch Tharpe
take the big end stripe in his '00 Corvette, which posted a 9.912 at 151.27mph (9.90 index). Farrow crossed a few moments later with a 10.06 at 138.36mph (9.90 index).
The remaining Southern Nationals winners are:
Top Alcohol Funny Car:
Win: Frank Manzo, '05 Avenger, Morganville, NJ, 5.60 259.76mph
R/U: Steve Harker, '99 Avenger, Brisbane, Australia, 8.46 106.73mph
Competition Eliminator:
Win: Vinny Barone, '34 Chevrolet, Dix Hills, NY, 30.80 67.31mph
R/U: Sal Biondo, '93 Beretta, Maspeth, NY, (foul) 8.61 130.17mph
Super Stock:
Win: Michael Iacono, '89 Camaro, Wading River, NY, 9.83, 133.05mph, (9.80 dial)
R/U: Don Barber, '04 Cavalier, Hohenwald, TN, 9.60, 126.73mph, (9.55 dial)
Super Street:
David Anspach, '73 Duster, Chesapeake, VA, 10.86, 132.65mph, (10.90 index)
Joe Urbino, '78 Malibu, Alden, NY, 10.85, 129.65mph, (10.90 index)
Photos
Rain held up the 2006 edition of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals action temporarily both Friday and Sunday, but simply didn't have the power to stop the ground pounding, 300mph race cars at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA. In fact, after Sunday's five hour rain delay, the track was faster than ever, with new track record times of 4.448 seconds and 331.28mph set by Top Fuel Dragster racer Tony Schumacher in round one of competition. Number one Top Fuel Funny Car qualifier John Force set a new track record of 4.686 in qualifying, only to have it eclipsed by team mate Robert Hight, who carded a 4.680 second pass in round one. Greg Anderson set a new track record ET of 6.704 seconds in qualifying, only to have it surpassed five times during eliminations, the first time by Erica Enders, who reset the record to 6.693 seconds. Warren "The Professor" Johnson, who lives in nearby Sugar Hill, reset the Pro Stock mph track record to 205.79mph, and kept it by running 206.20mph in round one, fending off three other passes in round one that were faster than 205.79mph. Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Antron Brown (Team Army Suzuki) reset the track record to 7.080 seconds in qualifying, and eight of the elimination passes bettered that time. Fortunately for Brown, he lowered the record to 7.045 in round one, which held for the event.
Two local racers, Bob Vandergriff (UPS Top Fuel Dragster) and Dan Lucas (Top Alcohol Dragster) qualified in their fields, with Vandergriff at the #13 spot in the 16 car field, and Lucas at #16, on the bump spot. Vandergriff had the better reaction time in round one, leading his opponent Melanie Troxel past the 330 foot mark, and made his best pass of the weekend, a 4.602 second, 318.77mph effort. However, Troxel, crossed the win stripe five hundredths of a second in front of Vandergriff with a 4.513 second, 326.63mph effort. Dan Lucas' machine hurt its engine in the last qualifier pass, and he did not make the call for round one. Vandergriff's family, who run the Hedman Hedders company in south Forsyth County, presented the $1000 Hedman Hedders Best Engineered Vehicle award to the Mopar powered '32 Bantam Competition Eliminator race car belonging to Keith Roberts of Mooresville, N.C.
"On a Holeshot," nearly became a mantra for the race announcers. More competition passes than usual in the top four professional classes were won by the slower machine, due to faster reaction times by the winning drivers. Two holeshot victories were scored in Top Fuel Funny Car, both by event winner Tony Pedregon, who singlehandedly took out all three of the John Force team race cars, beginning in round two and ending in the final with a holeshot victory against Team Force racer Robert Hight. Pedregon carded a 4.740 second pass, and his .067 second react made the difference after Robert Hight had a slightly slower .078 react, negating the advantage of his slightly quicker 4.738 second pass. As expected, Pro Stock featured the most holeshot wins, five. The final round Event winner Antron Brown also won the final round on a holeshot, beating Andrew Hines' '04 V-Rod with a 7.098 second pass, against Hines' quicker, but losing, 7.089 second pass. Brown's react, .005 seconds, was key, as Hines was just OK with a .034 react.
Doug Kalitta won Top Fuel last week at Bristol, and continued his charge to the finish line in Top Fuel Dragster. Kalitta had a scare after his round two when his parachutes did not deploy properly and he ended up in the sand pit at the end of the track. He managed to slow it down just before the sand trap by kicking the rear end out like a sprint car. However, his crew got everything ready by the next round and he never looked back. For the final, Kalitta faced Melanie Troxel, who has been on fire this year, making it to six final rounds in the first seven races and leading the points. Troxel lost the opportunity to gain 40 more points on Kalitta when her car started spinning the tires after the 100 foot mark, slowing her to a 7.234 seconds at 133.55mph. Kalitta would have been extremely hard to beat anyway, as he won the event with a 4.469 second, 327.59mph pass.
Thirteen time Top Fuel Funny Car champion John Force announced, "I've hired my own assassin," when his then hired gun Tony Pedregon won the Southern Nationals in 1996. His words proved prophetic, as Tony Pedregon defeated the entire Castrol Funny Car team on race day ten years later with his '05 Quaker State Monte Carlo, during the last three rounds of Funny Car competition. Although his car was not quite as quick, Pedregon's driving skills won two of the three matches against the Force team. "If I had any friends left in the Force camp before, they are no more. When I looked at the (competition) ladder this morning, I thought, this won't be easy," said Pedregon". It wasn't easy, but Pedregon was persistent, winning round after round until the only car left was his. Hight's Team Force AAA '05 Mustang actually ran quicker with a 4.738 at 321.81mph, but his slower react allowed Pedregon to earn the win light with a 4.740 at 325.69mph. The semi-final pair included Eric Medlen (Team Force Castrol '05 Mustang) and Del Worsham ('05 CSK Monte Carlo).
Another member of Force's team, Eric Medlen, kept the crowd on their feet and around his pit area; using up three different bodies and superchargers in the first three rounds. Medlen won round one against Tim Wilkerson, but a top end blower explosion and subsequent fire damaged the Mustang Body beyond quick repair. Fans in the pits enjoyed watching the thrash to prepare for round two. They were so late that NHRA had to escort them through the starting line side gate, as the lanes were full of other classes of race cars. Medlen made it about 10 feet down track before a blower explosion took out the second body. Fortunately for Medlen, defending Powerade champion Gary Scelzi crossed the centerline, which is an automatic disqualification. Another thrash ensued, and again, Medlen had to use the side gate to make the semi-final round call. This time, Tony Pedregon simply outran Medlen, ending his day.
The Southern Nationals Pro Stock final set another record. At the conclusion of the 2006 Southern Nationals, seven different winners have graced the Pro Stock winner's circle of the first seven events in the 2006 season. Greg Stanfield, a former Comp Eliminator standout who qualified #16 by a mere .001 seconds for the 16 car field, had a shot at winning his first ever Pro
Stock race, and event winner Dave Connolly, who qualified 14th, was looking to win his sixth, and first of 2006. Normally, the #14 and #16 qualifier in any head up race class are first round fodder, but that was not the case in the 2006 Southern Nationals Pro Stock field. Stanfield faced none other than top qualifier and defending Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson in round one, and
simply took him out en route to his final against Connolly. Stanfield did his job on the starting line with his '06 GTO, reacting first with a stellar .014 second effort. Unfortunately for Stanfield, Connolly's '06 Cobalt chose that moment to unload its best run of the event, posting a 6.695 second, 205.69mph winning pass. Stanfield's car got loose mid track, and seeing this race was done, Stanfield wisely chose to lift off the throttle and coasted to a 7.53 second 127.34mph pass. Larry Morgan ('06 Stratus) and Jim Yates ('06 GTO) finished in the semi-final round. Connolly, who did not even qualify for the field in Bristol last week, said, "He (new crew chief Tommy
Utt) saved my butt several times today. I did my job in the first round, and he got the car better and better each pass," added Connolly.
Antron Brown used his US Army Suzuki to celebrate his 15th victory in 30 Pro Stock Motorcycle finals after taking out Andrew Hines' '04 Harley V-Rod on, you guessed it, a holeshot. Brown, who had won with a .007 react in the semi-finals, said he squeezed the clutch lever a little harder (to make sure he did not have a red light start), and was rewarded with a .005 react, coupled with a 7.098 second 187.44mph pass. He needed that to take the win
light after Hines posted a qucker and faster 7.089 second 187.94mph pass. Unfortunately for Hines, his .038 second starting line reaction time put him second across the top end stripe, 0.024 seconds behind Brown. The US Army Motorcycle team of Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown has now won all three of the 2006 Pro Stock Motorcycle events, with Sampey winning the first two, and Brown winning this one. Brown also moved into a slim six point Powerade
points lead with 272 points. Sampey, who was the leader, is now second with 266 points. "We RACED this year. I was glad my dad was here today to help. Also, my mom and dad's 36th wedding anniversary was this week. It was sure good," added a happy Antron Brown. Karen Stoffer and Michael Phillips finished their day in the semi-final round.
"They left it for the girl to handle," said Top Alcohol Dragster winner Ashley Force (daughter of 13 time Funny Car champion John Force) after taking the event win. Then she added, "It was really the five guys and one girl on the team who made it happen. I just didn't mess up too much." Ashley was the only 2006 Southern Nationals winner from the Force camp. Although
her car shook the tires hard down track, forcing her to lift momentarily off the throttle of her Yorba Linda, CA based dragster, it still ran a 5.57 at 267.80mph in the final against a red ighting Karen Stalba, who then chose to ease through the final with a 13.48 at 55.61mph. Mike Kosky from Cuddy, PA and John Finke of Selkirk, NY finished up in the semi-finals. Ashley then
mentioned she would be testing her new Top Fuel Funny Car the following day. She declined to mention when she would debut it in competition, but 2007 looks promising.
The Stock Eliminator winner was Bernie "The Aussie" Cunningham, who originally came from Australia (but currently resides in Riverside, CA). His brother Kevin, who came to America on a five month "walkabout" to help Bernie race, has visited three times, and coincidentally, Cunningham has won three times. His Valvoline backed '98 A/FIA Firebird survived a double break out race (where both drivers go quicker than their posted handicap time) with a 0.03 under 10.87 at 119.71mph (10.90 dial). Although he had the better reaction time, (.021 to .083), Scott Helms Crystal Springs, FL based '66 Impala seemed to have discovered some extra ET down track, and broke out more with a 0.08 under 13.78 at 96.05mph (13.86 target). The semi-finalists were Stock and Super Stock standout Dan Fletcher ('69 Camaro - Churchville, NY) and John Gray ('72 Nova - Hudson, MA).
The winner of Super Gas, Gene Norwood from Naples, FL, was simply glad to be there. He actually thought he was disqualified in round three due to a starting line miscue (both racers left the line before the "Christmas Tree" was activated). However, a recent rule change allowed Tharpe to be re-instated in competition because his opponent, Jay Davis, committed the
infraction first. With help and advice from RFC Pastor and experienced Super Gas racer Tom Ratliff, Tharpe went on to enjoy holding his very own "NHRA Wally" trophy after defeating Steve Farrow's unusual looking '57 Chevy roadster. Farrow had a perfect .000 second starting line react, but his car got loose downtrack, forcing him to lift off the throttle and watch Tharpe
take the big end stripe in his '00 Corvette, which posted a 9.912 at 151.27mph (9.90 index). Farrow crossed a few moments later with a 10.06 at 138.36mph (9.90 index).
The remaining Southern Nationals winners are:
Top Alcohol Funny Car:
Win: Frank Manzo, '05 Avenger, Morganville, NJ, 5.60 259.76mph
R/U: Steve Harker, '99 Avenger, Brisbane, Australia, 8.46 106.73mph
Competition Eliminator:
Win: Vinny Barone, '34 Chevrolet, Dix Hills, NY, 30.80 67.31mph
R/U: Sal Biondo, '93 Beretta, Maspeth, NY, (foul) 8.61 130.17mph
Super Stock:
Win: Michael Iacono, '89 Camaro, Wading River, NY, 9.83, 133.05mph, (9.80 dial)
R/U: Don Barber, '04 Cavalier, Hohenwald, TN, 9.60, 126.73mph, (9.55 dial)
Super Street:
David Anspach, '73 Duster, Chesapeake, VA, 10.86, 132.65mph, (10.90 index)
Joe Urbino, '78 Malibu, Alden, NY, 10.85, 129.65mph, (10.90 index)
posted by David @ 1:40 AM
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