NHRA Newsmakers
Your inside glimpse at the world’s fastest motorsport
NEWS NUGGETS
BILL MAZEROSKI, JOE CARTER … TONY SCHUMACHER: In the annals of sports history, perhaps nothing resonates more with fans than a walkoff home run that rips victory from the jaws of defeat. When you add to the equation that a championship is at stake, a championship that has been fought for over the course of an entire season, well then it becomes an Instant Classic, replayed for generations of sports fans to marvel at. Such a rare, perfect-storm sports moment occurred at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona Sunday when Tony Schumacher needed to win AND set a national E.T. record on the final pass of the 2006 season to win the POWERade Top Fuel world championship and, to the jaw-dropping awe of every last person in the overflow crowd, he did it. Tony Schumacher etched his name alongside those of Bill Mazeroski and Joe Carter in sports lore with his 4.428-second blast that transcended NHRA POWERade Series drag racing. This was a moment, in context, that any sports fan would marvel at and will marvel at for years to come. (NOTE: Please contact Michael Padian at 626-250-2217 for interview requests).
SET YOUR TiVo’s: In case you missed Tony Schumacher’s blast into sports history, ESPN2 is giving you one more chance. The home of NHRA POWERade Series will be re-airing the Instant Classic Auto Club NHRA Finals late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. The show will be telecast from 3-5 a.m. ET Tuesday Nov. 14 on ESPN2.
AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS RECAP ON ESPN.COM: If you can’t wait for the re-air, ESPN.com has a recap of the incredible finish to the 2006 NHRA POWERade Series season on its website. Click the following link and on the right-hand side of the page you’ll find a series of highlight packages and the top one is the recap of the Auto Club NHRA Finals. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/seriesIndex?seriesId=2&lpos=globalnav&lid=gn_NASCAR_NASCAR_Frontpage
FORCE WINS HIS NHRA-RECORD 14TH POWERade WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: NHRA icon John Force made his own history Sunday with his NHRA-record 14th POWERade Series Funny Car world championship. He clinched the 14th title when he sped past third-place Ron Capps – who was the Funny Car points leader after 17 events this season – in the quarterfinals. Force went on to win the race, defeating Jack Beckman in the finals for his NHRA-record 122nd win of his illustrious career.
POWERade SERIES CHAMPIONS CROWNED: In addition to Top Fuel and Funny Car, the Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship was decided Sunday when Antron Brown was upended by Craig Treble in the quarterfinals. When Andrew Hines red-lit in the first round, that opened the door for Brown, who needed to advance to the finals to become the first African-American to win a POWERade Series world championship. But Brown came up two round-wins short and Hines collected his third straight POWERade Series world championship. Jason Line clinched the Pro Stock world championship one event earlier, in Las Vegas.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
· 2006 NHRA POWERade AWARDS CEREMONY, RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF., NOV. 13: The 2006 NHRA POWERade champions will be honored tonight at the awards ceremony to be held at the Westin Mission Hills Resort.
· CARQUEST AUTO PARTS WINTERNATIONALS, POMONA, CALIF., FEB. 8-11: Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) will begin defending their 2006 NHRA POWERade Series world championships.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
137: At Wednesday’s press conference before the Auto Club Finals, Tony Schumacher came within a whisker of calling his shot. He said the U.S. Army team was going to get the maximum possible 138 points (110 for winning the event, 8 for qualifying No. 1 and 20 bonus points for setting a national elapsed time record) and if Doug Kalitta was still able to hold onto first place, so be it. Tony came up one point short of his declaration (he qualified No. 2), but it was enough to win him his third straight POWERade Series world championship.
WHO’S HOT!
JACK BECKMAN: Coming off his win at the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals Oct. 29 and his wedding Nov. 7, “Fast” Jack Beckman hit the trifecta when he set a national record for speed in his Matco Tools Dodge Charger Funny Car at the Auto Club NHRA Finals. His qualifying pass of 333.66 was the top speed ever recorded – besting John Force’s 333.58 set in Chicago in Oct. 2004 – and he backed it up as is required with a 332.75 mph run in his first-round win Sunday over Scott Kalitta. The driving instructor at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School had raced in a Top Fuel dragster for the 2005 season, but had never raced a funny car until he started at Dallas just two months ago.
DRIVERS TELL ALL
SCHUMACHER GIVES CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: Tony Schumacher gets most of the face time for the U.S. Army team, but the pilot of the hottest hot rod on the planet isn’t disillusioned about where much of the credit lies: “What can you say about (U.S. Army crew chief) Alan Johnson. He’s simply the best crew chief and tuning mind ever, period. No one comes close. To pull off what he just did should end all discussion on the subject. He’s the best.”
