Making a Prediction (or Two)...

By Phil R. Elliott

…about dragracing even before 2004 testing gets under way seems like a waste of flangies time but I somehow think I should. The unpredictability about this mechanical and psychological game we love so much tends to bite back quickly. And, before I get into it at all, keep in mind that these are my expressed written predictions, for sure no one else’s, not necessarily well thought out…

And before I talk about all that stuff, let me please get a couple things off my chest.

Since about June of 2003, I heard a rumor that I really liked – that NHRA Pros would be launching off an instant green, my favorite starting system in the history of the sport. Since nobody waits for the green on the present tree anyway, an instant green would be an instant hit with drivers and fans alike. And, the bigger plus would be the nearly total deletion of the foul start. Except for the occasional guess, there would be no more crimson losses. So far, there have been no press releases from the powers that be.

The other thing on my mind is this new rotating Sportsman Eliminator system. For those of you that only follow the Pros, this would be somewhat like not having Pro Stock at six of the events. At another six, Top Fuel would be deleted, and so forth.

Yes, that has been the way Pro Stock Bikes have been, and over the last couple years, the alcohol eliminators have been cut back. I fully understand the lack of purse at certain venues, and even the desire to cut back on eliminators that might not have huge entry numbers in certain parts of the country.

But Sportsman?

The whole key to this decision is lack of pit space. With entries in the heads-up “90” classes increasing, and support vehicles growing in size, something has to give. Chopping whole eliminators at chosen races is the plan chosen for 2004, Stock here, Super Stock there. My question to the Glendora clubhouse is why not just use the already established system of cutting entries at a predetermined number?

Presently, Sportsman must compete at a certain number of regional points events – the Lucas Oil Drag racing Series – before they earn the right to attend a POWERade NHRA national event.

So, let’s just say that the cutoff is 128 Super Comp and 128 Super Gas. When that number of deserving entries arrive at the offices of NHRA, the fields are filled. To disallow whole Sportsman eliminators to compete makes me suspect that the long-rumored split events where Pros and Sportsman race on alternate weekends is not far off.

OK, here we go…

Like every previous year, wholesale changes have been made within teams including drivers, sponsors, crewchiefs, crewmembers, and virtually every other ingredient imaginable.

Top Fuel

There is no doubt in my mind that things will start off and continue exactly the way they did in 2003, the beer wars. Larry Dixon Jr. and Brandon Bernstein will whip their mounts to record performances and their fans into a lather. And, I truly am hoping that Brandon’s dad can stay retired for good this time. What I mean by that is that the younger Mr. Bernstein can remain healthy, a wish I’m certain his father shares.

Will TF be a two-horse race? Hardly.

The Connie Kalitta-led onslaught of three dragsters will all be in the hunt. After all, the two cars fielded from mid-03 on were arguably the most powerful in the pits. Cousins Doug and Scott will now be trio’d by David Grubnic, who I wish the best. This grouping will all be among performance standouts at every stop. I met “Aussie Dave” many years ago when he brought Phil McGee’s four-cam fueler to Bristol to compete on the IHRA circuit. He unloaded and serviced the complicated beast adjacent to the IHRA office and we chatted several times about his arrival in the U.S. and his plans for stardom. I hope he can finally secure a longtime-coming Wally.

Tony Schumacher will no doubt be a special force to reckon with, much to the delight of one of the strongest fan bases in motorsports. His father Don is making sure all the bullets are properly assembled, the powder is dry, and that Alan Johnson’s FC “hobby” won’t detract from a hoped-for world championship.

What of Cory McClenathan, Darrell Russell, and David Baca? All three have the full desire to step to the top of the cake, and the wherewithal to back-up that desire. I hear Cory will be shoeing for the Carrier Brothers. Mr. Baca may have a little extra push -- he won’t soon forget an emotional 2003 rookie-of-the-year loss. I can’t mention Russell without congratulating car owner Joe Amato for recently being inducted into the Eastern Motorsports Press Association Hall of fame. Certainly, Joe’s 52 NHRA wins and three world titles impressed EMPA.

I believe that Virgil Hartman will not lose sight of the goals of his daughter Rhonda and son-in-law John Smith and edge them both closer to the podium. Both finished in the top ten in 2003, admirable on its own, and Virgil now has a lock on a combination that gets down most tracks. John underwent more surgery to repair leg damage sustained in a 2001 crash and lots of physical therapy in the off season and should be even more ready for a competitive drive.

I keep hoping Clay Millican competes in the entire NHRA tour. Crewchief Mike Kloeber is one of the very smart guys out there and he’d certainly push Millican to wins if they were always there.

My sentimental pick for greatness in 2004 is Doug Herbert for one reason – Ed McCulloch. In his mind, “The Ace” has something to prove. Not to me but to himself. And, if there is somebody that can keep blowers on top and rods inside Herbert’s machine, it’ll be Ed.

I’d like to see a few others get notice this year.

Brady Kalivoda, certainly. He’s the son of a lifelong friend, Dick, who raced Jr.F and TF in the northwest throughout the 60s. In an area dominated by the aforementioned “Ace” and Jerry “The King” Ruth, Dick Kalivoda drove a car called appropriately, “The Joker.” Brady steps into Bill Miller’s brand new Don Long-built machine.

Scott Weis was an alcohol FC standout when I was with IHRA and I keep wanting him to step way up. Mike Strasburg is another guy that is on the edge of a breakthrough. Both these guys are among the very few still in family-run Pro cars.

I still have heard nothing about Paul Romine.

Funny Car

After a roller coaster year that ended in an emotional “family” breakup, I say John Force will have his way. I could stop there but his three cars, with veteran Gary Densham and rookie Eric Medlen backing his own effort, are the best there is. His stable is curried by no less than sixty employees (gasp) and all are pulling for win, place and show all the way down the line. Any less will be considered failure. By the way, before anyone considers Medlen some soft punk kid, the ex-bronc-riding champion reminds Mr. Force of himself at that age. Uh-oh…

I always get myself in trouble when I suggest who might be the second strongest team in FC. Is it the Schumacher duo of Whit Bazemore and Gary Scelzi, the Don Prudhomme owned cars driven by Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr., or the Chuck Worsham team of son Del and Phil Burkart? It seems a toss-up and you can bet that all six drivers will be scrambling to improve on pretty good 2003 showings.

Whit wasn’t terribly happy about finishing number two. Nearly all experienced catastrophic engine explosions and fires from which they all bounced back, seemingly unscathed. All will start 2004 with a determination never seen before. I’m wondering if Mr. Scelzi, with three TF world championships behind him and the very fastest flopper on the planet under him, might not have a better than average chance to wear the crown after 2004.

My two sentimental favorites, Tim Wilkerson and Dean Skuza, will no doubt return, each with a vengeance and a resolve, but still as single-car efforts, not much in vogue any more. Still, both made the top ten in 2003 and I see no sign of their giving up any time soon. Unless rumors of “flat-out-of-funds” for Skuza are true. I hope not.

Alan Johnson’s Toyotas will be back after a full year absence, with returns by Jim Head and Jerry Tolliver as drivers. Tolliver was the one that began the dialogue; Johnson agreed and even offered right-hand man Keith Adams to assist. Then, Mr. Head, who has been under the watchful eye of AJ for the last couple seasons anyway, decided he might like to return to the flops after more than a decade away. Sure, why not? This team will certainly be in the thick of things too. Something needs to keep tabs on the Fords, Chevys, and Dodges, right?

Speaking of that mix, all of Team Force will all be sporting the Mustang that proved so great from Indy on last year, while Team Shoe will be back with the Dodge “streamliner.” With Pontiac pulling away from racing, teams on GM’s current docket are said to be in NASCAR-like Monte Carlos, said to be extremely slippery.

I have high hopes for my pal, “Burnin’ Bob” Gilbertson, with advice continuing from Ed McCulloch, Jim Dunn’s zillionth season but now with a co-crewchief (Brian Corradi) and new shoe Tony Bartone, Terry Haddock, Bob Bode, and the half-dozen others that entertain us weekly.

Have I missed someone? Yup. I saved the brother act of Cruz and Tony Pedregon for last but I have no real feeling for how they’ll do. Their desire is there and backing is in place to do extremely well. Maybe they will.

I have never said this publicly before but will now. I have a real problem for how TonyP pulled away from John Force Racing and all the sponsors. I felt sort of bad for Tony after 2002 when he came so close only to have “daforce” overwhelm him. Down the stretch of 2003, I was actually pulling for Whit but Tony was destined to be WC.

OK, so the chance came along for the Pedregon brothers to put together a family team. I find that wonderful, except for one thing. A long list of sponsors got Tony to where he is and it seems rather like proverbially burning all those bridges to leave without at least a season of wearing the deserving #1 and thanking all those people and companies. Maybe there were bad feelings inside because Tony knew even as world champion, he’d always be playing second fiddle. Maybe he demanded more money than even JF Racing could absorb. I don’t know. It sure gives an odd perspective.

That said, a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do and the chance came so Tony needed to take it. I wish this very popular brother act the best and sure hope they do as well as their fan base predicts.

Pro Stock

Greg Anderson will start the season flying high in more than one way. First, he’s the reining world champ and second, he’ll be zipping around the skies in an F-16D thanks to an invitation from the USAF Thunderbirds. With the G-forces and speed involved, Anderson has already considered that his “sedan” might feel pretty tame.

However, if that little ol’ Grand Am is as prepared as it was last year, its competitors will think it has some help from jet propulsion. Will he repeat? I don’t think so but have no reasons. There are just lots of teams and drivers with ever-improving chances. PS will be tough. Anderson’s protégé Jason Line will be trying his best to do much better in the standings than being an asterisk in the statistics column.

Of course, everyone is starting off the year on 16-inch beadlock rims, and pre-season testing will be paramount. Having gone through a similar evolution several years ago with the mountain motor bunch at IHRA, I’ll guess that once the top teams hit their stride, they’ll pick up considerably, in both ET and MPH. Am I suggesting 6.5s at over 210? Sure, why not? It’s my list of predictions. By the way, look for plenty of primered rear wheel arches as teams adjust to just how much growth these tires will achieve.

Warren and Kurt Johnson have a slight advantage because they were the first to test on the new wheel/tire combo several months ago. With their ability to produce gross amounts of horsepower, I’d say the new setup will be to their liking immediately.

One of the major stories off-season was that a crewmember for WJ was hired away by Anderson, then “borrowed” the books that covered those important tire test sessions and offered them to his new employer. According to one source, Greg called Warren, told him the guy was working on his own. The would-be espionagist was caught and will not be working for either team.

My money (what little I have) is on Jeg Coughlin for the championship. He and his brother Troy will certainly have more horsepower this year and well-sorted rides to give them as much chance as anybody. And, Jeg Jr. has that starting line thing going for him too.

My sentimental favorite is with the Texans, Reher-Morrison, and driver Bruce Allen. I counted Buddy Morrison among my friends, and though he’s gone, I still feel his spirit when I get near the car. It is hard to believe that Allen will be entering his 20^th season behind the wheel of the R-M entry. This team also knows the meaning of power, so will certainly adapt to the new 16-inch tires easily.

Frank Iaconio (FIRE) seems to have found plenty of horsepower too, and his customers Mike Edwards and V. Gaines look for big improvements over 2003. Edwards was 5^th but he’d like to move up to a fight for the championship. Considering who finished in front of Mike (Greg, Kurt, Jeg, WJ), it might be a tough climb.

One previous standout, Mark Pawuk, who hired one-time IHRA driver/tuner Terry Adams late in 2003 to help get him back ontrack, looks for much better things this year. An ever-improving in-house engine program and new racecars are helping the team’s confidence. Pawuk was not happy with a 15^th spot in the final standings.

What about the Mopars? They’ll all be there and it is hard to pick a favorite among them. These guys have always operated on a different wavelength and stick pretty close to their own. None want a bunch of DNQs on their records, and every one of them would love to break up the GM juggernaut. With competitive drivers like Allen Johnson and Darrell Alderman, this seems like a slam-dunk. And, Kenny Koretsky’s team-up with Larry Morgan seems to be another good move. I have heard that Gene Wilson won’t be back and is searching for a fuel ride.

Jim Yates has got to move higher than his mediocre 9^th spot – that placement has had to have him muttering to himself all through the months away.

I look for really good things from the Dick Maskin and Rickie Smith team-up.

I have heard about several retirements and cutbacks in the PS ranks but cannot put names and reasons with them yet. There are a lot of talented drivers that have yet to cross my field of vision.

Certainly, everybody has heard that Hurley Blakeney’s Escort will not be back due in full to a cutback from the blue oval folk. I have no news on where popular Scott Geoffrion will go. There were rumors that at least two other teams would move over to Panella Ford power but now that whole story seems moot. It is too bad considering how dominating the Fords are in IHRA trim. It seems to me that the same technology would transfer, even with 315ci less. Some PS fans point at John Force as where the bucks went, but more likely, those few dollars have been sent to that series that races on tracks that more closely resemble the Ford logo.

Other Stuff

It appears that Angelle and Karen will be joined by another distaffer. Angie McBride, 24, will straddle the Star Racing Suzuki previously ridden by Fred Collis.

I don’t have to tell anyone that Ashley Force has left her SC dragster behind and will now be in the A/FD of Jerry Darien, an enviable spot considering how many have used the entry as a stair step to stardom. And, anyone who thinks this will be less than a 100% effort has already forgotten who her father is. Testing, or more accurately gaining seat time, has already been heavy.

I’m probably not the only fan that will miss Scotty Cannon in a funny car. I’m thinking he’ll settle back into Pro Mod pretty quickly, especially if the early test numbers are accurate and his Stude was in legal trim. He already has a number of major match races lined up against old and new foes. NHRA’s loss is the Deep South’s gain.

Phil R. Elliott