2007 Southern Nationals
by Tim Glover
The grounds at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga. were filled to capacity with a record number of spectators, along with hundreds of racers competing in the 27th running of the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals during the weekend of April 26-29.
A little rain did fall on the event, on Thursday. However, by Sunday, there was not a cloud in the sky and according to the announcer, the only forecast was "very fast". New track records were set in Funny Car (331.04mph - Mike Ashley), Pro Stock (6.627 seconds and 208.71mph - Greg Anderson) and Pro Stock Motorcycle (6.976 seconds - Angelle Sampey).
Professional class competitors in the 2007 edition of the Southern Nationals faced the tightest fields ever. The Top Fuel field was separated by only ..073 seconds, ranging from the pole position 4.506 seconds to get down the quarter mile course, held by Rod Fuller, to the 16th qualifier's time of 4.579 seconds. Funny Car was separated by .077 seconds, with 4.704 seconds
being the quickest (Mike Ashley), and 4.801 the slowest qualifying time. The Pro Stock field was separated by .069 seconds, ranging from the first place qualifying time of 6.627 seconds (Greg Anderson) to a bump spot time of 6.696 seconds. The bump spot was held by former Georgia Tech and NBA great Tom Hammonds, who said he came to this event to win. Simply qualifying a car in Pro Stock is a major accomplishment. Even Pro Stock Motorcycle had a close field (.141 spread - from 6.976 seconds to 7.117).
All eyes were focused on the Funny Car class this weekend, when the father and daughter team of John and Ashley Force met in Funny Car competition for the first time in NHRA history. Because he qualified in 12th place, 14 time champion John Force of Yorba Linda, Calif. met his 24 year old daughter Ashley Force (qualified fifth) in round one. John, who owns Force racing,
first offered (with a big smile) to give Ashley the day off Sunday, after finding out they were set to meet. Ashley graciously declined the offer and said she would see him at the starting line. She then said, "A lot of rivers would be intimidated by him. But to me, he's just dad. If anyone is
going to be nervous, it's him." They were still taking friendly jabs at each other on the way to the track Sunday, but when it came time to compete in round one, John assured her there would be no games played. John did take the lead in the starting line reaction time department, with a .102 react to her .134 react, but that was the last advantage he had. His car began
spinning the tires at mid-track, and Ashley took the win with a 4.77 at 317.05mph in her Castrol Mustang to John's losing time of 5.78 at 174.84mph in the Castrol High Mileage Mustang. "I've been waiting for this day my whole life," said the emotional Force after being defeated by his daughter.
An interesting side note is that John Force has not won a single competition round in 2007. He also experienced his first DNQ in nearly 20 years and 395 events two weeks ago at Las Vegas, not long after losing one of his team mates, Eric Medlen, during a testing accident at Gainesville, Fla.
Another bit of history was made, when the three Las Vegas race winners in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock repeated that feat during their next race at Atlanta Dragway. It has been a very long time since that feat was accomplished.
Ashley Force's team mate, Robert Hight, earned the 2007 Southern Nationals Funny Car win against Mike Ashley, who had qualified number one. Hight left the starting line first, and was also first across the finish line with his AAA '05 Mustang, which posted a 4.88 at 314.61mph. Mike Ashley experienced some trouble down track with his '07 Charger, which went a decent 5.16 at 229.66mph. For the first time in her short six race old career, Ashley Force made it to the semi-final round, along with the current Powerade points leader, Ron Capps. "Eric is with all of us, but I believe he was helping our team a little more," added the happy Hight. Hight has been to two final rounds at Atlanta, but had not won in Atlanta prior to the 2007 event.
Bob Vandergriff, who lives in nearby Alpharetta, kept his UPS sponsored dragster in the spotlight by qualifying well and then winning his way to the semi-final round. Vandergriff "packed and shipped" former champion Tony "Sarge" Schumacher in an upset filled round one with a better reaction time and quicker elapsed time. Even though both cars went up in smoke in his lane before he ran round one, crew chief Jim Dupuy had the car prepared, and it made one of it's best passes ever, a 4.561 at 317.42mph. "That was a big win," said Vandergriff. "The crowd this weekend is the biggest I've ever seen here. It's been great. A lot of people have come by and wished me luck. Things seem to be finally turning around for the UPS team and I couldn't be happier." Vandergriff then defeated a tire smoking Brady Kalivoda en route to his semi-final round appearance. These round wins, coupled with a final round appearance at Las Vegas, moved him up into seventh place in the Powerade points series, at 294 points.
Unlike the recent Las Vegas event, 2007 Southern Nationals Top Fuel winner Brandon Bernstein from Fairview, Texas did not meet Bob Vandergriff in the Atlanta final. This time, Bernstein faced off against Doug Herbert from Lincolnton, NC. Bernstein's Budweiser backed machine took the win light with a 4.66 at 305.01mph, while Herbert crossed the stripe .04 seconds later with a good 4.71 at 297.02mph. Bob Vandergriff (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Doug Foley
from Sewell, NJ finished in the semi-final round. "It's pretty amazing. When it comes to finals, (crew chief) Tim Richards is a magician. I know when I get to a final, I have a great shot at winning," added Bernstein.
Pro Stock winner Greg Anderson from Mooresville, NC helped six time NHRA champ Warren "The Professor" Johnson win many of his 96 events as a crew chief. Today, the tables were turned when the student, Anderson, defeated the teacher during the final round with a great 6.67 at 207.62mph in the Summit '06 GTO. Johnson, who lives in nearby Buford, was close with a 6.71 at 205.79mph in his GM Performance Parts '06 GTO. Johnson still had a great weekend, as he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Thursday, April 26, becoming the seventh drag racer to be so honored (and the only active drag racer). Johnson's son, Kurt, made it to the semi-final round with the AC Delco '07 Cobalt, along with Richie Stevens' Mopar entry ('07 Stratus - Metairie, LA). "There's lots of memories here. This was a
major grudge match. It was cool to beat both Johnsons in the same day," added Anderson.
To the delight of fans, NHRA announcer Bob Frey said Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Karen Stoffer of Smith, NV made riding her Geico Suzuki look so easy a caveman could do it. While she did make it look easy, it was anything but, as she stayed on her game all day, only varying .02 seconds, from 7.057 to 7.079 seconds, in four passes. Stoffer was quicker on the tree and outran
all her opponents up to the final. She caught a break then, after having a tardy .144 second reaction time when opponent Matt Smith from King, NC experienced immediate breakage the moment he let go of the clutch lever on his '06 Buell. Stoffer continued her winning pass to a flat out 7.063 at 188.65mph. Chip Ellis (Plains, GA - '06 Buell) and Geno Scali (Crystal Lake,
IL - '01 Suzuki) were the semi-finalists. "Everybody's great out there. We're just going to keep consistent. That's our main goal," added Stoffer.
Dan Lucas of Cumming, Ga. entered his Top Alcohol Dragster in the Southern Nationals, but experienced engine damage during qualifying. Due to the extent of the damage, Lucas was unable to make the call for the first round.
Spencer Massey from Fort Worth, Texas made the winning call for the 2007 Southern Nationals Top Alcohol final, and although it wasn't perfect, his 5.62 second, 249.58mph pass was good for the winner's circle after opponent Dan Mercier could only muster a 6.30 at 177.32mph. Both cars were running the approved injected nitromethane engines, which are almost as loud as the
supercharged nitromethane engines used in the two Top Fuel categories. Marty Thacker (Robinson, IL) and Dave DeAngelis (Middlesex, NJ) finished in the semi-final round.
Perennial champion Frank Manzo from Morganville, NJ notched another win in the Top Alcohol Funny Car record books against Marc White of Glendale Heights, IL. Manzo's Lucas Oil '05 Monte Carlo posted the winning time of 5.57 seconds at 262.18mph. White's '02 Firebird was better in the starting line reaction time department (.037 to Manzo's .054), but fell way off pace
to a 7.11 at 130.40mph. Mickey Ferro (Stamford, CT - '02 Camaro) and Bob Tasca III (Cranston, RI - '07 Mustang) were the semi-final finishers.
"It's been a long time since my last national event win," said Super Comp winner Edmond Richardson. He broke his four year old dry spell today with his decisive 41st national event victory against the equally tough Mike Fuqua from Hendersonville, Tenn. Richardson ran an 8.913 (8.90 index) at 161.57mph, while Fuqua ran an equally impressive, but second across the
stripe 8.916 at 170.73mph. (Richardson's worst react of the day was .033, which helped him survive the first three rounds, which were all double breakout affairs. Fuqua lived on the edge all day, surviving an extremely close first round against multi-time champ Ron Erks (who had a .027 reaction time advantage) by breaking out .004 seconds less than Erks. He then had a
similar scare in round two, breaking out less than Kurt Damron Sr., who had an even larger reaction time advantage (.033 seconds). Fuqua then took the win stripe in round three by .001 seconds, and beat Kurt Damron Jr in round four by .009 seconds. He took the fifth round stripe by .005 seconds, and then trailed the next two opponents by .018 and .013 seconds, finishing the day as runner up. The semi-final finisher was James Paul (Fort Worth, TX -'22 Dodge), a long time friend of Edmond. Richardson said he was now looking forward to a win at St. Louis, the next stop on the NHRA tour.
Because Super Stock was not contested at Atlanta, Churchville, NY racer Dan Fletcher's "other car" for the weekend was Jimmy Ayers' Valvoline backed 1957 Corvette Super Gas car. Ayers, who celebrated his 61st birthday on Saturday, received a fantastic birthday present in the form of an NHRA "Wally" trophy that Fletcher won after defeating Central, SC racer Billy Crenshaw's 1927 Ford in the Super Gas final. Fletcher's reaction time was a good .023, but the race was already won for him after Crenshaw left the starting line a mere .005 seconds too soon, resulting in a red light. nowing the race was already won, Fletcher cruised through the finish line with a stately 13.21 at 69.11mph. Crenshaw chose to see what his car would have done, and it posted a slight breakout 9.87 at 142.97mph. Chuck Trotter (Macclenny, FL - '03 Ranger) ended his weekend with a semi-final finish. Ayers' wife, Barbara, added, "He's our fourth son.. as long as he wins!!!"
Although it seemed just a short time since his last Southern Nationals win, 1998 was the last time Super Street racer Lamar Stephenson from Montgomery, Ala. claimed an NHRA national event "Wally" trophy. Although Stephenson was second in the starting line reaction time department (.025 to opponent Don Strickland's .010), Stephenson's trusty '69 Camaro saved the day, posting a great 10.91 at 122.64mph (10.90 index). Strickland's Red Bay, Ala. based '67
Chevy II slowed to a second across the stripe 10.97 at 120.29mph, good for the runner up spot. Long time Atlanta Dragway regular Ed Nalley from nearby Maysville, Ga. earned his way into the later rounds with his multi-purpose '76 Vega, and finished as the lone semi-finalist. Stephenson noted he came to the track without his wife Kaye in 1998 (and won) and also was sans Kaye for this weekend. He thanked her for her support, along with Valvoline, PTC, Lowes Auto Parts, JW Transmissions, and Clarence Woodham.
Other winners include:
Competition Eliminator:
Win: Glenn Treadwell, '96 Dragster, Sorrento, FL, 8.109 159.68mph (8.64 index)
R/U: Steve Ambrose, '23 T Roadster, Woodhaven, MI 7.79 164.59 (8.31 index)
Stock:
Win: Michael Iacono, '69 Mustang, Wading River, NY, 11.00, 108.52mph, (11.00 dial)
R/U: Peter Biondo '69 Camaro, Maspeth, NY 10.71 114.63mph, (10.67 dial)
The grounds at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga. were filled to capacity with a record number of spectators, along with hundreds of racers competing in the 27th running of the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals during the weekend of April 26-29.
A little rain did fall on the event, on Thursday. However, by Sunday, there was not a cloud in the sky and according to the announcer, the only forecast was "very fast". New track records were set in Funny Car (331.04mph - Mike Ashley), Pro Stock (6.627 seconds and 208.71mph - Greg Anderson) and Pro Stock Motorcycle (6.976 seconds - Angelle Sampey).
Professional class competitors in the 2007 edition of the Southern Nationals faced the tightest fields ever. The Top Fuel field was separated by only ..073 seconds, ranging from the pole position 4.506 seconds to get down the quarter mile course, held by Rod Fuller, to the 16th qualifier's time of 4.579 seconds. Funny Car was separated by .077 seconds, with 4.704 seconds
being the quickest (Mike Ashley), and 4.801 the slowest qualifying time. The Pro Stock field was separated by .069 seconds, ranging from the first place qualifying time of 6.627 seconds (Greg Anderson) to a bump spot time of 6.696 seconds. The bump spot was held by former Georgia Tech and NBA great Tom Hammonds, who said he came to this event to win. Simply qualifying a car in Pro Stock is a major accomplishment. Even Pro Stock Motorcycle had a close field (.141 spread - from 6.976 seconds to 7.117).
All eyes were focused on the Funny Car class this weekend, when the father and daughter team of John and Ashley Force met in Funny Car competition for the first time in NHRA history. Because he qualified in 12th place, 14 time champion John Force of Yorba Linda, Calif. met his 24 year old daughter Ashley Force (qualified fifth) in round one. John, who owns Force racing,
first offered (with a big smile) to give Ashley the day off Sunday, after finding out they were set to meet. Ashley graciously declined the offer and said she would see him at the starting line. She then said, "A lot of rivers would be intimidated by him. But to me, he's just dad. If anyone is
going to be nervous, it's him." They were still taking friendly jabs at each other on the way to the track Sunday, but when it came time to compete in round one, John assured her there would be no games played. John did take the lead in the starting line reaction time department, with a .102 react to her .134 react, but that was the last advantage he had. His car began
spinning the tires at mid-track, and Ashley took the win with a 4.77 at 317.05mph in her Castrol Mustang to John's losing time of 5.78 at 174.84mph in the Castrol High Mileage Mustang. "I've been waiting for this day my whole life," said the emotional Force after being defeated by his daughter.
An interesting side note is that John Force has not won a single competition round in 2007. He also experienced his first DNQ in nearly 20 years and 395 events two weeks ago at Las Vegas, not long after losing one of his team mates, Eric Medlen, during a testing accident at Gainesville, Fla.
Another bit of history was made, when the three Las Vegas race winners in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock repeated that feat during their next race at Atlanta Dragway. It has been a very long time since that feat was accomplished.
Ashley Force's team mate, Robert Hight, earned the 2007 Southern Nationals Funny Car win against Mike Ashley, who had qualified number one. Hight left the starting line first, and was also first across the finish line with his AAA '05 Mustang, which posted a 4.88 at 314.61mph. Mike Ashley experienced some trouble down track with his '07 Charger, which went a decent 5.16 at 229.66mph. For the first time in her short six race old career, Ashley Force made it to the semi-final round, along with the current Powerade points leader, Ron Capps. "Eric is with all of us, but I believe he was helping our team a little more," added the happy Hight. Hight has been to two final rounds at Atlanta, but had not won in Atlanta prior to the 2007 event.
Bob Vandergriff, who lives in nearby Alpharetta, kept his UPS sponsored dragster in the spotlight by qualifying well and then winning his way to the semi-final round. Vandergriff "packed and shipped" former champion Tony "Sarge" Schumacher in an upset filled round one with a better reaction time and quicker elapsed time. Even though both cars went up in smoke in his lane before he ran round one, crew chief Jim Dupuy had the car prepared, and it made one of it's best passes ever, a 4.561 at 317.42mph. "That was a big win," said Vandergriff. "The crowd this weekend is the biggest I've ever seen here. It's been great. A lot of people have come by and wished me luck. Things seem to be finally turning around for the UPS team and I couldn't be happier." Vandergriff then defeated a tire smoking Brady Kalivoda en route to his semi-final round appearance. These round wins, coupled with a final round appearance at Las Vegas, moved him up into seventh place in the Powerade points series, at 294 points.
Unlike the recent Las Vegas event, 2007 Southern Nationals Top Fuel winner Brandon Bernstein from Fairview, Texas did not meet Bob Vandergriff in the Atlanta final. This time, Bernstein faced off against Doug Herbert from Lincolnton, NC. Bernstein's Budweiser backed machine took the win light with a 4.66 at 305.01mph, while Herbert crossed the stripe .04 seconds later with a good 4.71 at 297.02mph. Bob Vandergriff (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Doug Foley
from Sewell, NJ finished in the semi-final round. "It's pretty amazing. When it comes to finals, (crew chief) Tim Richards is a magician. I know when I get to a final, I have a great shot at winning," added Bernstein.
Pro Stock winner Greg Anderson from Mooresville, NC helped six time NHRA champ Warren "The Professor" Johnson win many of his 96 events as a crew chief. Today, the tables were turned when the student, Anderson, defeated the teacher during the final round with a great 6.67 at 207.62mph in the Summit '06 GTO. Johnson, who lives in nearby Buford, was close with a 6.71 at 205.79mph in his GM Performance Parts '06 GTO. Johnson still had a great weekend, as he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Thursday, April 26, becoming the seventh drag racer to be so honored (and the only active drag racer). Johnson's son, Kurt, made it to the semi-final round with the AC Delco '07 Cobalt, along with Richie Stevens' Mopar entry ('07 Stratus - Metairie, LA). "There's lots of memories here. This was a
major grudge match. It was cool to beat both Johnsons in the same day," added Anderson.
To the delight of fans, NHRA announcer Bob Frey said Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Karen Stoffer of Smith, NV made riding her Geico Suzuki look so easy a caveman could do it. While she did make it look easy, it was anything but, as she stayed on her game all day, only varying .02 seconds, from 7.057 to 7.079 seconds, in four passes. Stoffer was quicker on the tree and outran
all her opponents up to the final. She caught a break then, after having a tardy .144 second reaction time when opponent Matt Smith from King, NC experienced immediate breakage the moment he let go of the clutch lever on his '06 Buell. Stoffer continued her winning pass to a flat out 7.063 at 188.65mph. Chip Ellis (Plains, GA - '06 Buell) and Geno Scali (Crystal Lake,
IL - '01 Suzuki) were the semi-finalists. "Everybody's great out there. We're just going to keep consistent. That's our main goal," added Stoffer.
Dan Lucas of Cumming, Ga. entered his Top Alcohol Dragster in the Southern Nationals, but experienced engine damage during qualifying. Due to the extent of the damage, Lucas was unable to make the call for the first round.
Spencer Massey from Fort Worth, Texas made the winning call for the 2007 Southern Nationals Top Alcohol final, and although it wasn't perfect, his 5.62 second, 249.58mph pass was good for the winner's circle after opponent Dan Mercier could only muster a 6.30 at 177.32mph. Both cars were running the approved injected nitromethane engines, which are almost as loud as the
supercharged nitromethane engines used in the two Top Fuel categories. Marty Thacker (Robinson, IL) and Dave DeAngelis (Middlesex, NJ) finished in the semi-final round.
Perennial champion Frank Manzo from Morganville, NJ notched another win in the Top Alcohol Funny Car record books against Marc White of Glendale Heights, IL. Manzo's Lucas Oil '05 Monte Carlo posted the winning time of 5.57 seconds at 262.18mph. White's '02 Firebird was better in the starting line reaction time department (.037 to Manzo's .054), but fell way off pace
to a 7.11 at 130.40mph. Mickey Ferro (Stamford, CT - '02 Camaro) and Bob Tasca III (Cranston, RI - '07 Mustang) were the semi-final finishers.
"It's been a long time since my last national event win," said Super Comp winner Edmond Richardson. He broke his four year old dry spell today with his decisive 41st national event victory against the equally tough Mike Fuqua from Hendersonville, Tenn. Richardson ran an 8.913 (8.90 index) at 161.57mph, while Fuqua ran an equally impressive, but second across the
stripe 8.916 at 170.73mph. (Richardson's worst react of the day was .033, which helped him survive the first three rounds, which were all double breakout affairs. Fuqua lived on the edge all day, surviving an extremely close first round against multi-time champ Ron Erks (who had a .027 reaction time advantage) by breaking out .004 seconds less than Erks. He then had a
similar scare in round two, breaking out less than Kurt Damron Sr., who had an even larger reaction time advantage (.033 seconds). Fuqua then took the win stripe in round three by .001 seconds, and beat Kurt Damron Jr in round four by .009 seconds. He took the fifth round stripe by .005 seconds, and then trailed the next two opponents by .018 and .013 seconds, finishing the day as runner up. The semi-final finisher was James Paul (Fort Worth, TX -'22 Dodge), a long time friend of Edmond. Richardson said he was now looking forward to a win at St. Louis, the next stop on the NHRA tour.
Because Super Stock was not contested at Atlanta, Churchville, NY racer Dan Fletcher's "other car" for the weekend was Jimmy Ayers' Valvoline backed 1957 Corvette Super Gas car. Ayers, who celebrated his 61st birthday on Saturday, received a fantastic birthday present in the form of an NHRA "Wally" trophy that Fletcher won after defeating Central, SC racer Billy Crenshaw's 1927 Ford in the Super Gas final. Fletcher's reaction time was a good .023, but the race was already won for him after Crenshaw left the starting line a mere .005 seconds too soon, resulting in a red light. nowing the race was already won, Fletcher cruised through the finish line with a stately 13.21 at 69.11mph. Crenshaw chose to see what his car would have done, and it posted a slight breakout 9.87 at 142.97mph. Chuck Trotter (Macclenny, FL - '03 Ranger) ended his weekend with a semi-final finish. Ayers' wife, Barbara, added, "He's our fourth son.. as long as he wins!!!"
Although it seemed just a short time since his last Southern Nationals win, 1998 was the last time Super Street racer Lamar Stephenson from Montgomery, Ala. claimed an NHRA national event "Wally" trophy. Although Stephenson was second in the starting line reaction time department (.025 to opponent Don Strickland's .010), Stephenson's trusty '69 Camaro saved the day, posting a great 10.91 at 122.64mph (10.90 index). Strickland's Red Bay, Ala. based '67
Chevy II slowed to a second across the stripe 10.97 at 120.29mph, good for the runner up spot. Long time Atlanta Dragway regular Ed Nalley from nearby Maysville, Ga. earned his way into the later rounds with his multi-purpose '76 Vega, and finished as the lone semi-finalist. Stephenson noted he came to the track without his wife Kaye in 1998 (and won) and also was sans Kaye for this weekend. He thanked her for her support, along with Valvoline, PTC, Lowes Auto Parts, JW Transmissions, and Clarence Woodham.
Other winners include:
Competition Eliminator:
Win: Glenn Treadwell, '96 Dragster, Sorrento, FL, 8.109 159.68mph (8.64 index)
R/U: Steve Ambrose, '23 T Roadster, Woodhaven, MI 7.79 164.59 (8.31 index)
Stock:
Win: Michael Iacono, '69 Mustang, Wading River, NY, 11.00, 108.52mph, (11.00 dial)
R/U: Peter Biondo '69 Camaro, Maspeth, NY 10.71 114.63mph, (10.67 dial)
posted by David @ 8:46 PM
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