FORCE, SCHUMACHER, ANDERSON WIN AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX

ENNIS, Texas – Perennial world champion John Force reclaimed the lead in the tightest Funny Car points chase in NHRA history by winning the event at the Texas Motorplex on Sunday.

Force won the O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals after his opponent Frank Pedregon’s Toyo Tires Dodge Stratus R/T broke on the starting line. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also won their respective categories at the $1.5 million race, the 21st of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Force, who drove his Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang to a 4.797-second finish at 324.05 mph, now holds a 36-point edge over former frontrunner Gary Scelzi. Scelzi fouled out for only the second time in his nine-year career in the first round of eliminations.

“I actually felt kind of bad for him, because I’ve been there,” Force said. “He’s trying real hard. He’s under pressure like all of us. I consider him one of the best, and when the best pushes it to the edge, that’s when you win. Sometimes it catches you, and that’s how it caught him today.

“Next week it can be turned back around. Next week I can come out here and lose in the first round and they’ll take the points lead again.”

Schumacher piloted his U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster down the track in 4.523 at 331.77 to defeat No. 1 qualifier Doug Herbert and his Snap-on Tools dragster. Herbert stopped the clocks in 4.629 at 320.05 in his final pass.

Schumacher, the defending NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world champion, needs only to make a qualifying attempt at the next event, in Las Vegas, to earn a third title.

“What an awesome team,” Schumacher said. “Our team’s running so great. I am deep in the Funny Car battle, and I’m just a spectator over there. It’s just fun to watch. It’s so much fun to be a part of it.”

Following a lengthy burndown, Anderson defeated teammate Jason Line with a 6.690 at 206.61 effort in his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO.

Anderson, the defending two-time NHRA POWERade world champion who clinched his ’04 world championship at the Texas Motorplex, extended his lead in the POWERade point standings and inched closer to his third consecutive series crown.

“The way we started this season (so poorly), now we’re back in the game,” Anderson said. “I think a lot of people, a lot of our competitors, thought ‘you know what, we’ve got him this year. He’s done.’ We really had to find something extra this year, and obviously we did. My hat’s off to my crew. I can’t say enough about them. They are the three-time defending champions.

“Points are almost secondary to me. They certainly are the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the reason why people come out. For me, it’s going to that race and winning that race and getting that Wally trophy at the end of the day. It means everything to me. To me, you go to win the race and prove you’re the baddest dog out there.”

With only two events remaining on the 2005 schedule, the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series enters the final few weeks of the season. The 23-race series returns to the Nevada desert for the fifth annual ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, Oct. 20-23, at The Strip at the state-of-the-art Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

ENNIS, Texas -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex. The 1.5 million race is the 21st of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1. Tony Schumacher; 2. Doug Herbert; 3. Melanie Troxel; 4. Rod Fuller; 5. Larry Dixon; 6. Doug Kalitta; 7. Morgan Lucas; 8. John Smith; 9. Scott Kalitta; 10. Scott Weis; 11. Bill Ancona; 12. Mitch King; 13. David Grubnic; 14. Cory McClenathan; 15. Jack Beckman; 16. Brandon Bernstein.

FUNNY CAR:

1. John Force, Ford Mustang; 2. Frank Pedregon, Dodge Stratus; 3. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo; 4. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo; 5. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo; 6. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica; 7. Ron Capps, Stratus; 8. Whit Bazemore, Stratus; 9. Gary Scelzi, Stratus; 10. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo; 11. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo; 12. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo; 13. Jack Wyatt, Pontiac Firebird; 14. Eric Medlen, Mustang; 15. Robert Hight, Mustang; 16. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo.

PRO STOCK:

1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO; 2. Jason Line, GTO; 3. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt; 4. Jeg Coughlin, Dodge Stratus; 5. Warren Johnson, GTO; 6. Allen Johnson, Stratus; 7. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 8. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt; 9. Richie Stevens, Stratus; 10. Dave Connolly, Cobalt; 11. Greg Stanfield, Chevy Cavalier; 12. V. Gaines, Stratus; 13. Larry Morgan, Stratus; 14. Mark Pawuk, GTO; 15. Rickie Smith, Cobalt; 16. Bruce Allen, Pontiac Grand Am. 

ENNIS, Texas -- Sunday's final results from the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex. The 1.5 million race is the 21st of 23 in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Tony Schumacher, 4.523 seconds, 331.77 mph def. Doug Herbert, 4.629 seconds, 320.05 mph.

Funny Car -- John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.797, 324.05 def. Frank Pedregon, Dodge Stratus, broke.

Pro Stock -- Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.690, 206.61 def. Jason Line, GTO, 6.713, 206.48.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Steve Torrence, 5.259, 268.71 def. Aaron Olivarez, 5.316, 266.32.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Steve Gasparrelli, Pontiac Firebird, 5.668, 256.70 def. Jimmy Jones, Chevy Camaro, 5.679, 255.10.

Competition Eliminator -- Richard Freeman, Chevy Cavalier, 8.471, 162.08 def. Craig Bourgeois, Dragster, 6.935, 181.52.

Super Stock -- Hagen Gary, Chevy Camaro, 10.982, 95.13 def. Kevin Helms, Olds Achieva, broke.

Super Comp -- Tommy Phillips, Dragster, 8.920, 161.96 def. Rodney Costlow, Dragster, 8.935, 167.28.

Super Gas -- Carl Cochran, Roadster, 9.897, 148.25 def. Gary Free, Chevy Lumina, 9.892, 144.30.

ENNIS, Texas -- Final round-by-round results from the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex, the 21st of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL: 

ROUND ONE -- Doug Kalitta, 4.502, 328.30 def. Cory McClenathan, 5.869, 156.19; Larry Dixon, 4.583, 320.97 def. Scott Kalitta, 4.621, 318.84; Morgan Lucas, 4.543, 323.04 def. Jack Beckman, 6.125, 139.62; Melanie Troxel, 4.597, 319.75 def. Scott Weis, 4.772, 271.30; Doug Herbert, 4.551, 324.28 def. Bill Ancona, 4.774, 281.48; Tony Schumacher, 4.484, 331.28 def. Mitch King, 4.915, 247.43; Rod Fuller, 4.580, 316.23 def. David Grubnic, 5.777, 194.21; John Smith, 5.512, 236.55 def. Brandon Bernstein, 6.230, 214.38;
QUARTERFINALS -- Troxel, 4.558, 327.43 def. Dixon, 4.817, 311.27; Fuller, 4.609, 325.61 def. Smith, 7.246, 134.20; Herbert, 4.567, 321.81 def. D. Kalitta, 5.663, 190.54; Schumacher, 6.081, 299.00 def. Lucas, 6.572, 275.62;
SEMIFINALS -- Herbert, 5.237, 253.14 def. Fuller, 12.709, 77.04; Schumacher, 4.550, 327.51 def. Troxel, 7.127, 123.56;
FINAL -- Schumacher, 4.523, 331.77 def. Herbert, 4.629, 320.05.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Frank Pedregon, Dodge Stratus, 4.870, 306.88 def. Mike Ashley, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.891, 299.80; Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.893, 322.34 def. Eric Medlen, Ford Mustang, 6.483, 143.35; Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.852, 324.67 def. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.906, 308.28; Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.831, 318.92 def. Jack Wyatt, Pontiac Firebird, 5.151, 226.77; Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.942, 279.38 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 7.707, 116.70; Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 4.865, 313.80 def. Gary Scelzi, Stratus, foul; Whit Bazemore, Stratus, 4.855, 321.42 def. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo, 8.421, 111.87; John Force, Mustang, 4.835, 325.53 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.895, 304.46;
QUARTERFINALS -- Bartone, 5.478, 186.25 def. Bazemore, 15.108, 77.80; F. Pedregon, 5.680, 191.73 def. Capps, 8.309, 120.35; Force, 4.838, 322.88 def. Wilkerson, 4.840, 319.75; Worsham, 4.906, 315.19 def. Burkart, 4.953, 312.57;
SEMIFINALS -- F. Pedregon, 5.033, 307.23 def. Worsham, 6.821, 160.75; Force, 4.834, 322.34 def. Bartone, 4.871, 317.34;
FINAL -- Force, 4.797, 324.05 def. F. Pedregon, broke.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Warren Johnson, Pontiac GTO, 6.709, 206.45 def. Mark Pawuk, GTO, 6.745, 205.41; Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.730, 204.91 def. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.735, 204.88; Jeg Coughlin, Stratus, 6.710, 205.32 def. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.707, 205.69; Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 8.410, 115.24 def. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, foul; Jason Line, GTO, 6.674, 206.64 def. V. Gaines, Stratus, foul; Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.698, 205.47 def. Rickie Smith, Cobalt, 6.763, 204.88; Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.669, 207.15 def. Bruce Allen, Pontiac Grand Am, broke; Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.719, 205.35 def. Greg Stanfield, Chevy Cavalier, 6.729, 205.07;
QUARTERFINALS -- Coughlin, 6.786, 205.10 def. K. Johnson, 17.495, 72.83; Enders, 6.741, 205.29 def. Krisher, 7.523, 127.81; Line, 6.701, 206.35 def. A. Johnson, foul; Anderson, 6.694, 206.51 def. W. Johnson, 6.750, 205.94;
SEMIFINALS -- Line, 6.728, 206.13 def. Coughlin, 6.787, 204.85; Anderson, 6.692, 206.35 def. Enders, 6.729, 205.35;
FINAL -- Anderson, 6.690, 206.61 def. Line, 6.713, 206.48.

ENNIS, Texas -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex, the 21st of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Tony Schumacher, 1,746; 2. Larry Dixon, 1,478; 3. Doug Kalitta, 1,475; 4. David Grubnic, 1,263; 5. Doug Herbert, 1,247; 6. Morgan Lucas, 1,246; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 1,216; 8. Scott Kalitta, 1,039; 9. Cory McClenathan, 1,031; 10. Rod Fuller, 733.

Funny Car

1. John Force, 1,396; 2. Gary Scelzi, 1,360; 3. Ron Capps, 1,339; 4. Robert Hight, 1,292; 5. Eric Medlen, 1,263; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 1,167; 7. Whit Bazemore, 1,129; 8. Del Worsham, 1,103; 9. Tony Pedregon, 1,089; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 941.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 1,751; 2. Kurt Johnson, 1,507; 3. Jason Line, 1,466; 4. Warren Johnson, 1,425; 5. Dave Connolly, 1,230; 6. (tie) Ron Krisher, 994; Greg Stanfield, 994; 8. Jeg Coughlin, 976; 9. Richie Stevens, 974; 10. Jim Yates, 910.