Indy: Last Chance to Get into the Countdown

The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil not only represents NHRA’s most prestigious race, it also represents the last chance for teams to get into “The Countdown to the Championship”. In order to compete for a championship, drivers must be in the top 10 in points in their class at the conclusion of the U.S. Nationals. The NHRA Countdown to the Championship is basically a playoff system, but the catch is that non-playoff teams participate and can spoil the hopes of championship contenders. Here is a snapshot of each class going into Indy:

Top Fuel
Clinched a playoff spot: Del Worsham, Antron Brown, Spencer Massey, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Doug Kalitta, and Brandon Bernstein
Should clinch in Indy: Shawn Langdon and Morgan Lucas
Realistically in the hunt for a playoff spot: Dave Grubnic, Terry McMillen, and Bob Vandergriff Jr.

Funny Car
Clinched a playoff spot: Mike Neff, Robert Hight, Jack Beckman, Cruz Pedregon, Matt Hagan, Ron Capps, and John Force
Realistically in the hunt for a playoff spot: Tim Wilkerson, Jeff Arend, Bob Tasca III and Johnny Gray

Pro Stock
Clinched a playoff spot: Greg Anderson, Jason Line, Mike Edwards, Vincent Nobile, Erica Enders, Allen Johnson, Rodger Brogdon, and Greg Stanfield
Should clinch in Indy: Shane Gray
Realistically in the hunt for a playoff spot: Ron Krisher, Larry Morgan, and Ronnie Humphrey

Pro Stock Motorcycle
Clinched a playoff spot: Eddie Krawiec, Karen Stoffer, LE Tonglet, Andrew Hines, Matt Smith, and Hector Arana Sr.
Should clinch in Indy: Michael Phillips, Hector Arana Jr., and Gerald Savoie
Realistically in the hunt for a playoff spot: Jim Underdahl, Chip Ellis, and David Hope

See the attached document for further analysis of those in the hunt for a playoff spot. This analysis clearly shows why these drivers are battling for one of the final playoff spots instead of already being locked in. Here are some highlights:

• The majority of the remaining playoff contenders have lost > 50% of the time in the 1st round.
• The majority of the remaining playoff contenders tend to qualify in the bottom half of the field in their respective classes. The only exceptions are Tim Wilkerson, Bob Tasca and Ron Krisher.
• Johnny Gray has the highest number of DNQs with 3, followed by Bob Vandergriff Jr. and David Hope with 2. 
• The tightest battle for a playoff spot is in Top Fuel. Drivers in the other classes will need a bit more help to get into the playoffs.

In Summary, here is what teams need to do:

• Teams that have not yet locked themselves into the playoffs have two goals – Qualify for the race and go rounds in eliminations. If they do that, teams on the outside looking in will not be able to catch them. 
• Teams on the outside looking in must first focus on qualifying for the race.  Then they must go rounds in eliminations and hope the teams in front of them stumble. 

One of the best things about NHRA drag racing is that anything can happen. I am looking forward to seeing how things unfold as the weekend progresses.

NHRA on ESPN3 – The next best thing to being at the track

As NHRA fans, when it comes to watching our favorite sport on TV we’ve been mostly relegated to watching it via tape delay. Up until last season, ESPN had sporadically offered live broadcasts on ESPN3, which is ESPN’s internet channel. The overwhelming response from fans was that it was a hit. I often wondered why it was not available for every race. I even used social media to promote the idea of having it for every race. I am not sure if I had anything to do with it, but ESPN decided to offer live streaming of all elimination events live on ESPN3.com in 2011!

For most of this season, my Sundays have been filled with family obligations and I was not able to commit the time to watch it live. I found myself with open Sundays during the Sonoma and Seattle races and decided to watch them live. I sat down on the couch with my son, turned on the XBOX 360 and opened the ESPN3 application. Our XBOX is connected to our big screen TV and the surround sound system. ESPN3 streams the video in full screen HD quality, so basically it was as if I was watching the broadcast through my TV provider, not through the internet. It was simply awesome!

The coverage begins during the singing of the national anthem and does not end until the top fuel winner is interviewed by Gary Gerould. Not only do you see all of the Full Throttle Series action live, you also see all of the Lucas Oil Sportsman series and Get Screened America Pro Mod Series. It’s as if you were sitting in the stands all day at the track! Throughout the broadcast, ESPN is recording the shows which will be played later that evening, or in the case of sportsman and pro mod, at a later date. Once in a while, you will see a blooper and they will have to rerecord an interview, etc. All in all, it is a great way to watch the race!

Suggestions for Improvement:
With anything, there is always room for improvement. I have a few suggestions. ESPN needs to get the live broadcast to the point where we don’t have to watch the ESPN2 show at all. Sometimes, there are special features and interviews that are not shown on ESPN3 and you would miss out on these if you didn’t watch the ESPN2 show. I also think it would be great if ESPN could show live qualifying from Friday and Saturday on ESPN3. If there are recording the action, I don’t see why it cannot be broadcast live.

About ESPN3:

Access to ESPN3 is available nationwide in the United States, but you must either subscribe to a participating internet service provider or have an XBOX Live account. 

To see a list of participating internet service providers, click here.

Lack of access to NHRA Driver Statistics

Since I began writing my blog a month ago, I realized NHRA fans do not have online access to a very important piece of information – Driver Statistics. In any sport, hardcore fans are all about statistics. They can tell you everything about their favorite team, player, etc up to the minute. League websites for stick and ball sports have very detailed statistics about teams and players where fans can pull this information from. With the NHRA, this is not possible. On the NHRA website, only driver bios and basic career wins information is provided. What if I wanted to know a driver’s round win/loss record for the current season? What if I wanted to know a driver’s average reaction time or his win/loss record against an opponent? To my knowledge, this information is not available anywhere on the internet. As an aspiring journalist, having access to these statistics online would provide me with the ability to analyze the data and write more interesting and timely articles for my readers. While the statistics feature in National Dragster is nice, it only scratches the surface of what can be made available and it is usually outdated by the time the issue arrives.

I’m sure I am not the only person who needs or wants access to this information. If you feel the same way as I do, please write to NHRA or contact them via social media. Their contact information is below:

E-mail – nhra@nhra.com

Twitter – http://twitter.com/nhra

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/nhra

Mike Neff – Driver, Crew Chief, Points Leader and Tweeter

At the end of the 2010 season, Mike Neff knew he would be turning a funny car at John Force Racing in 2011.  After all, he had just tuned John Force to his 15^th championship, winning six races in eleven final rounds along the way. What he didn't know was that he would be driving a car as well. With the announcement that Ashley Force Hood would be sitting out the 2011 season to start a family, Mike Neff was given an opportunity to drive and tune his own funny car.  In order to make the transition smoother for Mike, it was decided he would continue with the same crew and car he tuned in 2010. With a championship winning car and crew in hand, Mike embarked on the 2011 season at the Winternationals in February. At that race, he qualified 3^rd and lost on a hole shot to Matt Hagan in the semifinals.  It didn’t take long for Mike to win his first race of the season. Just two weeks later at the Gatornationals, Mike once again qualified 3^rd and this time he dominated in eliminations and took home his first of many Wallys.

Coming into this season, everyone knew Mike Neff would be a strong contender for the championship.  So far, he is proving to be just that. At the midpoint of the season, Mike has won four races and has appeared in seven final rounds.  He is in first place and has a 172 point lead, which amounts to a nine round lead over second place.  I’ve always heard that the best drivers are the ones who can relay detailed information about each run back to the crew chief. In Mike’s case, he has a huge advantage in that department. Not only can he see the data on the computer, but he also felt everything that happened on the run. Combine this advantage with his 2x championship tuning knowledge and his ability to bounce questions off the JFR brain trust (Jimmy Prock, Dean Antonelli, Ron Douglas, and Bernie Fedderly) and you have the formula for a championship.

John Force remains the only funny car driver to have ever swept the western swing. With the way Mike is running lately, you’d have to count him as a favorite to join that elite club this year.

You would think that someone with Mike’s busy schedule wouldn't have time for social media, but that is not the case.  He has recently joined Twitter. You can follow him at @MikeNeffJFR. 

Here is a picture of Mike Neff in the winner's cicrle at the Supernationals in Englishtown, NJ on June 5, 2011.

With the Rookie of the Year nearly locked up, is a championship next for Vincent Nobile?

With the way Vincent Nobile drives and conducts himself, you would think he is a seasoned veteran. In reality, he is in his rookie season and is just 19 years old. Through 10 races in 2011, Vincent has appeared in half of the final rounds and has walked away with two pewter Wallys. He is the youngest driver to ever win in NHRA Pro Stock. Besides these already impressive statistics, he leads the Pro Stock class in average reaction time, which has caused a lot of his competitors to cringe when they have to face him. These are impressive accomplishments for someone who had had never driven a clutch operated vehicle prior to getting in the seat of his pro stock car.

Vincent drives a Hemi powered pro stock Dodge Avenger with primary backing from Mountain View Tire, which is a 30-store chain of Goodyear Tire & Auto Service Centers, based in California. The engines and tuning experience are provided by Roy and Allen Johnson. At the start of this season, the plan was to only run a limited set of races. After just 2 races, team owner Nick Mitsos saw something special with this team and decided to run the full season and so far, it has paid off. With his current statistics, Vincent is the leading candidate for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, which recognizes the NHRA rookie of the year. In fact, it is widely believed he has already locked up this award.

At 20 years and 11 months old, LE Tonglet was the youngest person to ever win an NHRA championship in any category. That record could be short lived if Vincent and team keep up their winning ways. With Vincent’s driving skills, a great car and his ability to remain calm, cool and collected, the sky is the limit for this team. Look for Vincent Nobile and the Mountain View Racing team to be a championship contender for years to come.

For more information on the race team, visit http://www.mountainviewracing.com
For more information on Mountain View Tire, visit http://www.mountainviewtire.com

Here is a picture of Vincent in the final round against Allen Johnson at the Super Nationals in Englishtown, NJ on June 5, 2011.  Vincent lost to Allen when he left the starting line .006 too soon.

Here is an interview with Vincent discussing his first win 

(Conducted by Full Throttle TV)

Don’t count out Tony Schumacher just yet...

It’s hard to believe, but Tony Schumacher is winless through the first 10 NHRA events in 2011. Along the way, he’s lost some extremely close races, including some against his teammates. His win / loss record against Antron Brown and Spencer Massey so far this season is 2-5. Both of those drivers and their teams are hungry for a championship plus they have access to the same parts, pieces and knowledge as Tony’s team. But it doesn’t stop there. There are many other teams that are just as hungry for a championship, including Al-Anabi Racing, Kalitta Racing, Brandon Bernstein, Morgan Lucas Racing and Terry McMillen. In any sport, the competitors always seem to step up their game when they are playing against the best. It is no different in drag racing. When drivers, crew chiefs and crews see the 7x Champ’s name as their next opponent, there’s no question they dig a little extra deeper for that run.

Tony and the Army crew are just as hungry for another championship, but the team is struggling to find the right tune-up that will get them back in the winner’s circle.  Tony mentioned in his ESPN2 interview in Norwalk that the car is launching off the line like a rocket, but it is a little sluggish on the back half of the run. You can bet that Mike Green and the Army crew will figure it out and have that car in championship form soon.

Tony Schumacher fans need not push the panic button. With the countdown format, any team can win as long as they are in the top 10 in points after the U.S. Nationals. Tony is currently 5th in points, and there is a huge gap back to 6th.  You must also remember that he has won championships in just about all imaginable ways. Finally, with the strength and determination of the US Army behind that team you can bet they will be battling until the very end.

Hooah!